SEREMBAN: Capturing snakes is no easy task, but facing strange encounters while capturing them is a truly unforgettable experience for three members of the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) here.
Sharing her experience, Syarima Umira Mohamed Khanafi, 24, said she encountered such an incident while capturing a three-meter-long python at an old house near Labu here in 2020.
"We received the complaint around 4am before arriving at the complainant's house and found the snake coiled around the house's thatch.
"As we captured it and tried to put it into a sack, the snake suddenly started 'mengilai' (a sound akin to hysterical screaming). In the early morning darkness, the sound was truly chilling," she said when met.
The youngest of eight siblings said that after returning from the operation, she searched for information about wailing snakes on the internet and found that it did indeed exist.
Joining the force six years ago, she said that although she had participated in thousands of snake capture operations, fear still existed, but one must remain calm to face the situation.
Muhammad Syahir Ruddin Adlie Abdul Malik, 25, said one unforgettable experience during a snake capture operation was when he was involved in a midnight task at a house in Gadong Jaya here four years ago.
"The complainant claimed there were three king cobras, and we divided the task to capture all three. I chased after one of them, and it indeed looked like a snake.
"It turns out what I saw was not a snake because someone else there said it wasn't a snake. At that time, we only brought back one snake, while the other two were believed to be other creatures resembling reptiles," he said.
Abdul Qayyum Azmi, 24, says he has been bitten by eight snakes during the wild animal capture operations, but fortunately, the reptiles involved were not venomous.
"Indeed, my parents worry about my tasks, but I always ask them to pray for everything to be made easy.
"As APM members, we must be prepared to face any given task, and safety aspects must be prioritised," he said.
Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan Civil Defence Force director, Mohd Nazri Mes Kam, said they expected snake capture cases to continue to increase due to the current hot weather conditions.
"In this hot season, snakes usually seek cool or shady places to hide, so we must be cautious.
"In just two months, a total of 526 snake capture cases were received, with Seremban recording the highest number of cases at 432," he said.