For 31-year-old Sagar Pandey of Argali Ranghuwa in ward 14 of Tansen Municipality4, a ringing mobile phone often means only one thing: someone has spotted a snake.

Whenever a snake turns up in or around a house, people call Pandey. Even the Division Forest Office seeks his help when it needs a snake rescued.

For the past 18 years, Pandey has been rescuing snakes and releasing them safely back into the wild. He estimates that he has rescued more than 10,000 snakes so far, travelling across Palpa and to neighbouring districts including Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Syangja, Baglung, Kaski, Parbat and Myagdi.

“Catching snakes is hardly an easy job,” he said. “But I have been interested in snakes since I was a child, so I don’t feel much fear.”

His fascination with snakes began with an incident at home.

“When my aunt gave birth to a daughter, a green snake entered our house,” Pandey said. “Instead of killing it, I tried to catch it. I succeeded. After that, I began trying to catch snakes I found in the fields. Before I knew it, I had become something of an expert.”

There have been times when snakes became part of his everyday life at home, too. He said he first caught a snake to save his younger sister and has continued doing so ever since. His affection for wildlife, he said, is one reason he has chosen to rescue snakes rather than kill them.

For the first year, Pandey confined his rescues to Argali, catching snakes and releasing them in the forest. Eventually, calls began coming from neighbouring districts.

“I became so curious that I started catching snakes even when I found them in the fields,” he said. “Later, I began gathering information from different sources. People who had studied snakes also shared what they knew with me. I am still learning a lot.”

Pandey says he has never received formal training of any significant kind. But years of experience have given him enough knowledge to rescue snakes and educate others about them.

He claims to have set a record in Nepal by rescuing 107 king cobras, the highest number of the species rescued by an individual in the country. In total, he says, he has rescued snakes belonging to 40 species.

One of his most frightening rescues involved a king cobra weighing 12 kilogrammes. He has also rescued a 48-kilogramme python near Khani Chhap in ward 4 of Bagnaskali Rural Municipality, close to Ramdi.

Pandey says he is sometimes disappointed by the very people who call him to rescue snakes.

“People call me to catch or rescue a snake, but once I have caught it, they don’t always treat it well,” he said. “The snake should be released in a habitat with the same kind of conditions as the area where it was found. But people sometimes follow me with sticks because they are afraid I might release it somewhere near their homes. That hurts.”

He admits that rescuing venomous snakes such as king cobras and kraits can be frightening. Still, he says he is willing to travel wherever he is called and that he handles all kinds of snakes, sometimes with his bare hands.

Pandey, who has a bachelor’s degree, said he sometimes charges for rescuing king cobras. For other snakes, however, he does not set a fee.

“I accept whatever people voluntarily give me for the work,” he said. “I don’t tell them that I need a certain amount. But for king cobras, I charge some money depending on how close or far the location is.”

Pandey has one simple message for people who encounter snakes: leave them alone.

Snakes do not normally attack people simply because they see them, he said. They are more likely to bite when they are provoked, handled or otherwise disturbed, usually as a means of defending themselves.

“People should not tease, disturb or touch snakes,” he said. “That is when they may bite to protect themselves.”