Catching a snake is probably one of the riskiest professions of the world. In a terrifying video that has surfaced from Karnataka’s Shivamogga, a snake catcher narrowly escaped death while trying to catch a King Cobra.
While two of the snake-catchers were trying to catch the long reptile, one of them was attacked by the creature. The huge snake can be seen trying to get close to the snake catcher’s leg. The other person tried to help the snake catcher
A video of the incident was shared by ANI where the snake catcher can be seen standing on the broken trunk of a tree and struggling to catch the cobra.
#WATCH | A reptile expert narrowly escapes being bitten by a Cobra snake while trying to catch the animalShivamogga, #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/czTc7Zv7pu
— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2021
Since being shared two days ago, it has been watched more than 1.2 lakh times. Many people are commenting on the video concerned about the snake catchers who were trying to get hold of the reptile.
IFS officer Parveen Kaswan quote-tweeted the video and said that the snake in the video is actually a king cobra and it’s a lucky day for the snake catchers.
It’s a king cobra. Lucky day. https://t.co/Rmp5lQMgT2
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) January 12, 2021
A person said that these snake experts should be given protective gear to save themself in such situations. He urged that organisations should at least give them gear that can protect their legs and hands.
https://twitter.com/Peacelover65/status/1349013395144634368
Appreciating the bravery of the snake experts, a person saluted them for not panicking otherwise the situation could have been fatal.
Protective gears...at least reaching knees and forehands should be provided by the department for volunteers and professionals. Snakes are so agile and can easily overrun our boney structure.
— gogreen (@Peacelover65) January 12, 2021
A Twitter user questioned the reason why the snake catcher was trying to catch cobra from its natural habitat.
Responding to him, another Twitter user said that it could be because they wanted to extract anti-venom.
Applaud their bravery n effort, they didn't panic much else could have been absolutely fatal, Salute to the experts
— Bawra Hai Ke? (@BawraHaiKe) January 12, 2021
Pramod Kuhswaha, another Twitter user said that it was both a lucky and scary day for the man and that he will be taking precautions before trying to catch snakes again.
Commenting on the video, another user said that the appropriate headline should have been that a snake rescuer had to be rescued while trying to rescue a snake.
Death due to snakebite is a significant problem in the country. A 2017 report by Down To Earth says that half of the global snakebite deaths happen in India. In June 2017, WHO recognised it as a Neglected Tropical Diseases, affecting people in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Predominantly, Indian snake catchers use the venom of ‘Big four’ to make anti-venom, namely the spectacled cobra, Russell’s viper, the common krait and the saw-scaled viper.
Irula Snake-catchers Industrial Cooperative Society provides venom to private companies which then create anti-venom.