This is the moment a trapped rat snake lunged at an expert who was trying to free it from a net in western India.

Residents of an apartment in Pune saw a cat staring at something intensely on May 1.

They then noticed that their garden net had trapped a rat snake, which had tried to sneak in to prey on rodents.

The snake had struggled to free itself and become more tightly entangled with the mesh.

Rescuer Saidas Kusal and his team rushed to the apartment to free the snake.

As he was examining the net and figuring out his next move, the reptile reared up and tried to attack his hand.

Though the snake was non-venomous, the unexpected attack shook Saidas a little who steered clear of its head as he began to snip away at the plastic mesh with scissors.

After nearly an hour of work, the snake was freed and released in a nearby forest

“The snake was agitated and made the rescue difficult. It clutched on to my hands desperately and tried to stop me. I had to work patiently to free it,” said Saidas.

Residents of an apartment in Pune in western India saw a cat staring at something intensely without even moving an inch on May 1.

Checking, they saw that their garden net had trapped a rat snake, which had tried to sneak in to prey on rodents. The snake had struggled to free itself and only managed to get itself further tightly entangled with the mesh.

Rescuer Saidas Kusal and team rushed to the apartment in response to a call, and set out to free the snake. As he was examining the net and figuring out a way to rescue, the snake sprung up and tried to attack his hand, but was luckily held back by the strings.

Though the snake was non venomous, the unexpected attack shook up Saidas a little, who steered clear of its head and started snipping plastic strings with a scissor. After nearly an hour of careful cutting and snipping the snake was set free. It was put in a bag and released at a nearby forest later.

Saidas said: “The snake was agitated and made the rescue difficult. It clutched on to my hands desperately and tried to stop me. I had to work patiently to free it.”

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Please note - The moment of attack has been repeated in slow motion to give a clear view.