A snake-catcher from India teases out a 6-foot rat snake from inside the hollow of a tree.

Police in Bhubaneswar discovered the reptile in a bottle brush tree on the grounds of a government building today (June 28th) and called snake-catcher Subhendu Mallik.

Mallik and his team were unable to peer directly into the hollow in the tree and so decided to take a photo of the snake first to establish the species.

They quickly realised it was a non-venomous rat snake which must have gone to sleep in the tree after a meal.

Mallik used a long stick to coax the reptile from its sleeping place, captured it and later released it in a natural habitat where it was less likely to come into contact with people.

A 6-feet-long snake climbed a Bottle brush tree and hunted a bird, which was living inside the hollow.

Policemen, who were guarding the campus of a government building in Bhubaneswar in eastern India, where the tree was located, witnessed the hunt and called for help to rescue the snake.

Snake Helpline founder Subhendu Mallik and team went to the spot and found that the hollow was at a height and could not be accessed easily.

To play safe they first took a video of the intruder with a phone and identified it to be a non-venomous rat snake.

After its meal, the snake had gone to sleep inside the hollow and was reluctant to come out.

Subhendu decided against plucking out the snake as it could have injured it. He gently teased the snake with a stick inside and the irritated snake came out in less than 30 seconds. He then captured and released in a suitable natural habitat out of the city.

Subhendu said: "I had never filmed a snake to identify it before the rescue. That was a first.”