Residents of Gazipaşa, a district of the southern city of Antalya, a popular summer resort, have recently been alarmed over the prevalence of snakes. Locals captured snakes as long as 3 meters in recent days and attribute the frequent sightings of the reptiles to increasing temperatures.
Although snakes live in areas away from settlements, locals are concerned as they have started to be sighted near houses, especially at night. Showing a large, 3 meter-long snake he captured, Bilal Şimşek said snake sightings are common, but stressed it was the first time he captured one that big. He said they were lucky to capture the animal before it harmed anyone.
Locals also face a dilemma of killing the snakes and being fined, as it is forbidden to kill the reptiles. Authorities say those killing the snakes, "a member of the food chain and a contributor to biodiversity" will be subject to fines of up to TL 38,000 ($13,739).
