Cobra rescued from kitchen in Mumbai's Mulund West

1.5-foot reptile later released into the wild by activists

Reptilian intruder: The snake was found curled up between steel boxes in a shelf of the kitchen.

“I think I saw a snake creeping into my kitchen,” a panicked resident of Anju Building, Mulund (West), told her neighbour, Sukhabir Kaur, on Thursday evening. The family, living in the first-floor flat, first spotted the Indian cobra slithering through the bedroom door.

Ms. Kaur, in turn, alerted her neighbour, who dialled the helpline of an animal rescue group. When a two-member team from the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) reached the building, they found the snake curled up between steel boxes in the lower shelf of the kitchen.

“It was a 1.5-foot Indian cobra, also known as spectacled cobra, whose scientific name is

Naja naja ,” a RAWW member said. The snake was captured, put into a box, and subsequently released into the wild.

Ms. Kaur, however, said snake eggs had recently hatched in the garden in the building compound. “Often, the small snakes climb onto a tree near the terrace. Even a light breeze tosses them into the building,” she said.

A few days ago, she said, dogs were barking outside the gate. “When we went out to check, there was a dead snake. The same day, another snake was found on the steps of the building.” Ms. Kaur suspects the snakes might have come from the nearby mangroves.

RAWW president Pawan Sharma said when a snake is confronted by a human, its first instinct is to escape. “They bite only when they feel threatened. Proximity to green spaces like a forest, and open drains are some of the possible reasons for the snakes to stray into human habitat,” Mr. Sharma said.