Cop in Madhya Pradesh performs CPR on a snake

A police constable in Madhya Pradesh named Atul Sharma went viral on social media after giving a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a snake.

According to local reports, the snake became unconscious after ingesting water with pesticide in a residential area in Narmadapuram, India.

The circulated video showed that Sharma who is a self-taught snake rescuer performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the snake and after a few minutes, it began to show signs of life.

"It was already unconscious. We extricated the snake and tried to revive it by rinsing its mouth with water. Then, I administered CPR. It took nearly an hour for the snake to regain consciousness and we released it safely in a forest," Sharma told reporters.

Meanwhile, a vet opposed that performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a snake won't be effective and it seems like the snake revived on its own after a temporary loss of consciousness.

The website Everything Reptilion also confirmed that administering CPR to snakes is not effective or possible. "The answer, unfortunately, is no. Unlike mammals, snakes don't have lungs that can be inflated using CPR. Instead, they have a series of air sacs that allow them to breathe. These air sacs are located in their gut and rely on the snake's muscles to move the air through them. As a result, it's simply not possible to use CPR to resuscitate a snake."

Despite this, Sharma's effort is recognized by the residents and is hailed as a hero. (KBAPI)