A King Cobra that made a mysterious appearance near the city on Saturday was captured by snake experts and taken to Pilikula Biological Park. The snake was rescued from a house at Ulaibettu village near Vamanjoor at around 7.30 p.m.
The snake measuring about 8 ft was rescued by Ashok, snake handler of Pilikula Nisargadhama, before being shifted to the Pilikula zoo, said a release.
While King Cobras prefer dense, humid forests with cool climate and avoid warm urban habitats, its appearance in the coastal region has surprised many.
Snake rescuer Atul Pai, who first received the distress call, was quoted as saying: “I got a call from a man informing me that a King Cobra has been spotted in Mangaluru. I couldn’t believe it at first. We receive many such calls as people often mistake a normal cobra for King Cobra. After reaching the spot, I realised that it was indeed a King Cobra. As I did not have the required experience to handle such a big and rare snake, I decided to call Ashok from Pilikula and he promptly rescued it. There were also about 200 onlookers and I did not want to take any risk.”
According to Mr. Pai, some local residents claimed that the snake came from the Phalguni (Gurupura) which passes close by. The mysterious appearance of the snake is being investigated by the Pilikula authorities to determine its origin, he added.
Director of the Pilikula Biological Park Jayaprakash Bhandary was quoted as saying, “There have been a few incidents in the past when we rescued King Cobras near Mangaluru. But such incidents are very rare. We are keeping this King Cobra under observation and a decision on its release will be taken soon.”
