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In a first for Uttarakhand, 10 python eggs hatched in an artificial incubator

Dehradun: A clutch of python eggs got a new lease of life after forest officials of Terai region decided to hatch them and keep them inside an artificial makeshift incubator for nearly two months, starting May-end. The forest officials had taken custody of this clutch of abandoned eggs from a farmhouse in Bazpur area of Banakhera forest range on May 28.

The eggs were spotted by kids playing there. Subsequently, forest authorities kept the eggs in a safe place in a forest where the mother python visited for nearly 8-9 hours but thereafter, it abandoned them. After waiting for almost a day, the authorities took them to a Ramnagar-based forest office where they were kept in a silent place inside a room in a ‘makeshift incubator.’

The python eggs, artificially incubated for almost two months at a maintained temperature between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius and humidity between 72 and 80%, saw hatchlings coming out of it this week. All the hatchlings have now been released into the wild of Terai West where their mother was last spotted.

This was the first-of-its-kind experiment of the state forest department with the help of veterinarians and wildlife scientists. Prior to this, Kerala is one of the states where python eggs have been hatched artificially. Notably, pythons are categorised under Schedule 1 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the same as snow leopards, which means the species has to be conserved on priority. “We saw 10 hatchlings coming out which were all fed reptiles and left in the wild safely. Every species has a strong role to play in the ecosystem and thus, we wanted to save them at any cost," said Himanshu Bagri, DFO, Terai West.

The eggs were given a safe environment for incubation and two empty thermocol medicines boxes (used to keep vaccines) were used as an incubator. The base of the box was made up of sand to provide humidity and moisture to the eggs while the exterior of this box was covered with husk (used in a cooler) to keep it moist and damp. Surprisingly, this informal technique saved the eggs and hatchlings came out on July 31. The boxes had a thermometer and hygrometer each inside them so that at a regular interval staff could check the internal environment of the temporary incubator. “It was a unique experiment because it was conducted without any professional equipment like incubators. We managed everything out of waste material and it proved to be quite a successful experiment. We maintained adequate humidity and temperature for the proper growth of the reptiles,” said Dushyant Sharma, senior veterinary doctor at Corbett Tiger Reserve.

It is worth mentioning that pythons are poached for their meat and skin internationally. Many tribal communities consume them as bushmeat while the skin is illicitly traded to Europe and North America for manufacture of high-end accessories like bags, belts, and shoes.

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