Goa, June 10 -- SHASHWAT GUPTA RAY

A humble tailor by profes sion, Pradip Gawandalkar of Valpoi got into snake rescue by chance in 2014 and has since rescued over 10,000 snakes, including 89 king cobras, more than 200 Russell's vi pers and 1,000 cobras, apart from numerous non-venomous species. Originally from Goa, his family moved to Dandeli in Karnataka be fore he eventually returned to settle in Valpoi. While his primary liveli hood comes from a successful tai loring business, his true passion lies in wildlife rescue. "My journey began after attend ing a workshop conducted by prom inent snake catcher and Animal Res cue Squad member Amrut Singh.

From there, I transitioned from be ing a concerned observer to a dedi cated volunteer," Ga...