THE TELEGRAPH (Calcutta, India) 25 November 10 Injured king cobra rescued

Alipurduar: A male king cobra, probably injured in a fight with a mongoose, was rescued this morning by the forest staff on elephant census duty.

The snake, over 12-feet-long, was spotted in the Panbari forest of the Buxa Tiger Reserve.

A range officer of the reserve, Bhabesh Basumata, was leading a team on foot to sight elephants in the forest when they spotted the reptile near a waterhole.

“We had reached the waterhole where elephants often come with the hope of sighting them when we spotted the snake under a tree. It was a huge snake and at first we thought that it was dead. But when I poked it with a snake stick, it stirred. We saw that its lower jaw was badly damaged and it was weak. We took it to the veterinary unit at Rajabhatkhaowa,” said Basumata. He added that the reptile was weak and could hardly move. It has been kept in an empty enclosure at the unit.

Manas Kundu, the veterinarian treating the snake, has instructed the staff members to feed the reptile glucose and antibiotics with the help of a pipe. “The snake is 12.5-feet-long and seems to be over 10 years old,” said Kundu. King cobras feed only on other snakes and sometimes lizards. They have a life span of about 20 years.

“We suspect that the wound is from a fight with a mongoose. We fed the snake chicken soup today. We are trying our best to keep it alive,” said Kundu.

Deputy field director (west) of the tiger reserve, R. Jakhar, also suspected that the injury was caused in a fight with a mongoose. “The snake is seriously injured and chances of its survival are slim. However, our vets are trying their best to keep it alive.”
Injured king cobra rescued

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