Goa: 12-feet king cobra rescued from private farm

PANAJI/VASCO: It was a regular morning of doing rounds at his farm at Dongurli, Sattari, for farmer Nestor Rangel when he noticed a 12-feet-long king cobra curled up on the fence lining the field. The forest department’s rescue squad was immediately alerted following which the reptile was rescued and released in the surrounding forest area.
“Snakes are a common sight in this region, but this was a huge one.I tried prodding it to gently get it off, but it seemed very lethargic. I decided that it was best to contact the forest department since they are experts in handling such cases, else someone else could attempt to kill it,” Rangel said.
The snake reportedly exhibited docile behaviour which made it easy for the rescue squad to capture it and isolate it until it was time for its release. They estimated the age of the snake to be about three-years-old.
“The snake must have eaten a rodent or a rat snake owing to which it was lethargic. Since snakes are territorial reptiles, the rescue squad said that they would release it within a kilometer’s radius of the farm,” Rangel said.
Meanwhile, another king cobra was rescued on Friday morning, this one in the heart of Vasco city.
The reptile was noticed in the basement of the Thakker House building on Swatantra Path. Locals immediately contacted the mobile squad from Margao who rescued the snake.
The rescue operation was carried out under the guidance of Prakash Naik and the reptile was later released in the forest.