King cobra rescued near Walayar river

Coimbatore: A nine-foot long king cobra was rescued near Walayar river in Madhukkarai forest range on Wednesday. This is the fourth cobra rescued in the range this year.

A R Ameen Badusha, one of the snake rescuers in the city, said, "The seven-year-old male snake entered Pudhupathi village near Cholakarai forest beat through a stream flowing near the village."

The villagers and forest guard noticed the snake in the morning and informed the forest officials and snake catchers. The officials reached the spot within half an hour. Initially, the officials had a tough time managing the crowd as people from nearby villages also gathered there to see the cobra. "Cobras are extremely ferocious and venomous. So, rescuing them requires a lot of effort and skill. We are really proud of the snake catchers and forest officials who were involved in the process," said Senthil Kumar, Madhukkari ranger officer.

Ameen said that they used thongs and other equipment to rescue the snake. "We did not want to hurt the snake and also ensure safety of people gathered there. It was a difficult task but we are happy that we safely rescued the snake and released it 1.5km away from the village," he said.