Not a charmer but saviour

When we see a snake our first instinct is to run or flee. Then there are some who will attempt to kill it. However, there are a few people who will try to save these reptiles at a risk to their own lives and Fazle Rabbi Robin is one such person.

Robin, hailing from Brahmanbaria, rushes to capture snakes whenever he is informed that one has been sighted -- whether at a house or in a locality in Chittagong.      

When he does capture a snake Robin nurses it, and then releases it into a forest under supervision of officials of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, Chittagong. If a snake is very ill or injured he takes it to Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University for treatment. 

Aiming to rescue stranded and injured snakes, Robin started working as a volunteer at the nature conservation division six months back. Since then he has rescued about 45 snakes in different areas of Chittagong and released those into the forest.

"There is a fear of snakes among us. But not all snakes are venomous and they do not usually bite anyone unless disturbed first," said Robin who passed his HSC exam in 2005 from Brahmanbaria Government College.   

"I have always been fascinated with wildlife and animals," he said, adding that he used to rear pigeons in class VI.

Robin went to Malaysia in June, 2013 where he came across a small snake farm in Baku. He became interested in snakes after seeing how they were tamed and cared for at the farm. He returned to Bangladesh after six months.

He met with snake charmers in Savar and searched online to learn about how to catch and tame snakes, said Robin, adding that he came to Chittagong in April last year.

To earn his livelihood, Robin makes houses made of wood for pigeons and sells those for Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 each.

Robin now dreams of setting up a rescue and rehabilitation centre for snakes. He urged people living in Chittagong to call him at 01552818254 for help in rescuing snakes.

"We let Robin know whenever we receive information of snakes entering residences or found in villages and he goes there to rescue the snakes," said Abdur Rahman, assistant conservator of forests (sadar), Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, Chittagong.