Ruamjai foundation worker Suparuk Maekprasat explained to The Phuket News that the snake-catching blitz began on Saturday (Feb 9), when he was called to a house in Soi Palai at about 8pm.
“The snake was about one meter long. It had slithered past in front of the television where the grandmother was sitting and watching,” Mr Suparuk said.
“The daughter in the house moved her grandmother to safety quickly and called the police. The police then called us.
"It took about half an hour to catch the snake after it gone into hiding behind the refrigerator,” he added.
Then on Sunday (Feb 10) Mr Suparak was called to catch three more snakes.
At about 11am, he was called to a house in Baan Nabon, where he caught a rat snake (Ngoo Thang Maphrao) almost one meter long.
“It entered the house and tried to hide in a room. This one took 20 minutes to catch," Mr Suparak said.
An hour later Mr Suparuk was called to Soi Klumyang off Chao Fa West Rd in Chalong, to catch a cobra about two meters long that was trying to slither its way into a house.
By 6pm Sunday evening Mr Suparak was called to another house, this one in Soi Sai Nam Yen, also off Chao Fa West Rd, opposite the entrance to Wat Chalong, where a two-metre-long python had devoured a chicken.
The snake was hiding a drain behind the house hoping for some peace and quiet while digesting its meal.
By the time Mr Suparak arrived, the snake still did not want to be disturbed.
“It still took about one hour to catch this one,” Mr Suparak said.
"We took the snake back to our foundation’s headquarters (on Soi Ta-iad), where after about half an hour it spat out what was left of chicken,” he said.
“We are called to catch a lot of snakes,” Mr Suparak explained.
“We wait until we have caught 10 to 20 of them before we release them back into the wild,” he added.
The snakes are always released far from people’s homes, he added. (See story here.)
The Phuket Rumajai Kupai Foundation’s chief, Sayan Thammaphan, has urged anyone with a snake in or near their house or business to not approach the snake, but instead call him to have foundation staff come and safely remove the intruder.
“Anyone who wants my help call just call me at 081-3670537,” Mr Sayan said.
The Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation is based on Soi Ta-iad in Chalong, and mainly operates in the Chalong area. Tel: 098-7045345