This was the moment young snake rescuer Nita Gajare was caught out by a slippery snake that escaped her grasp during a call out in Pune, Maharashtra.

The clip from January 19 shows the retrieval attempt go pear-shaped as the adult rat snake was hiding in some undergrowth of an apartment complex.

Gajare initially was able to capture the serpent but, suddenly, it escaped making her chase it down.

Gajare's boss told media: "The snake was unexpectedly fast. We had to stop to catch our breath."

The snake was later released into the wild.

Young rescuer Nita Gajare came across a rat snake on January 19, which would stay etched in her memory.

Residents of an apartment in Pune in western India spotted an adult rat snake and called noted rescuer Saidas Kusal.

Saidas went to the apartment with his team and let Nita take the lead in catching the snake. As she started searching for the snake, which had hidden itself well in a corner, it decided to escape.

It fled for its life sending Nita and others in hot pursuit. She managed to catch the reptile by its tail and carefully put it in a bag. It was released in the wild later.

Saidas said: “”The snake was unexpectedly fast. We had to stop to catch our breath. “