MANGALOREAN (Mangalore, India) 08 June 07 King size King Cobra at Pilikula

Mangalore: The Pilikula Nisarga Dhama today had a surprise for the experts who had gathered to witness the world environment day. It was a huge 16 feet king Cobra which was caught in Shirthadi village near Moodbidri and gifted to the Pilikula snake park by one Ashok –master snake catcher. After a show of the giant and deadly reptile in front of the district in-charge secretary Bharatlal Meena and Deputy Commissioner M. Maheshwara Rao the the Kalinga was restored to Dr. Shivarama Karanth biological park in Pilikula Nisarga Dhama today.

Mr. Ashok said this snake had just escaped from the deadly curl of a python which was much larger than the Kalinga. He said the King Cobra was very venomous and a microgram of its venom can kill a horse within two seconds flat. Mr. Ashok has rescued many Cobras, Boas, Pythons, Vipers and other deadly venomous snakes from the human habitats and released them into the wild or given it to the various wildlife preserves. Mr. Ashok says the snake-man confrontation was one of the most traumatic for both species. The snake is more scared than the human and want to escape quickly, but in the melee large snakes like King Cobras, Russles Viper attacks whoever comes in the front. Human beings without trying to know that the snake was trying to escape, tries to protect himself and either kills it or wounds it. Mr. Ashok says he had lost count of the snakes he has rescued and many times he had even refused any reward from people either in cash or kind.

The Pilikula snake park in Moodushedde village had successfully run a 'King Cobra' (Kalinga) breeding and rehabilitation centre under the world herpetology expert Romulus Whittaker in 2005-06 has already three giant King Cobras and this one will be an additional attraction which is also the largest among the existing ones in the snake park. Keeper of the snake park in Pilikula Dinesh who himself was a snake catcher said this was the largest he had seen in his career 10 years as a snake catcher.
King size King Cobra at Pilikula

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