Palghar: Cobra found with maggot wounds in mouth

MUMBAI: A 6-foot spectacled cobra with maggot wounds in its mouth was rescued from Palghar about 10 days ago. The snake, which was unable to gulp any food, died despite a marathon effort made to save it.
The snake had crawled into Mahikavati Society, said Ashok Ambure, a resident. “A few children playing downstairs spotted the cobra after stray dogs kept barking at it,” said Ambure.“The sight of the snake scared not only the children, but also we grown-ups.”
The snake was trying to scale the wall to slither out in the greenery behind the building, said Vaishali Chawhan, a Palghar resident who rescued the snake. Initially, it appeared quite normal, like any other cobra. “It kept hissing as if trying to warn me to get out of its way,” said Chawhan. “It was only when the cobra raised its hood that I noticed a huge wound around its jaw.”Chawhan took the snake to Sanjay Gandhi National Park to get it examined.
The snake had a gangrenous wound in the mouth, said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian. “A major part of the mouth had injuries and there were maggots wriggling inside,” said Dr Pethe. “The snake had lost its fangs on one side and its venom glands were also destroyed.”
The snake was being fed artificially with a tube. Besides being administered antibiotics, it was also being force-fed egg and given water to keep it hydrated.
Dr Pethe said that the snake had been found in a precarious condition.
It was unclear as to how the cobra had sustained the injuries. “Possibly it had got into a fight with some wild creature or some human may have tried to kill it,” said Chawhan.
As a rescuer, Chawhan has appealed to citizens not to harm snakes. “It is not in the nature of snakes to harm us humans. If at all they do, it is in self-defence,” she said. “So, if you do spot a snake, alert a team of rescuers who will take it away.”