JAGALPET (UTTARA KANNADA): Four cousins had the shock of their lives when they realised that a 10-foot-long king cobra travelled with them in their car, at Jagalpet in Joida taluk of Uttara Kannada district on Sunday.
Babu Ganapathi (name changed) and his cousins from Kandewadi near Castle Rock-Dudhsagar region of Goa left home in the morning for their relatives house at Mest Biroda village near Jagalpet.
They stopped their car for the darshan of Lord Dattatreya near Jagalpet, which is about 80km from Kandewadi. Even then, they did not realise that a stranger was travelling with them. Nor did the stranger alert them about his presence below the boot.
After reaching their destination, Ganapathi and his cousins alighted from the car leaving the doors open. When they were busy exchanging pleasantries with their relatives and friends, a cat started sniffing and meowing around the car.
Snake released back into wild
“Initially, they did not take note of it. But when they heard an unusual noise and checked the car, they saw the snake coiled between the rear wheels below the boot,” said a villager at Jagalpet. Ganapathi and his relatives immediately informed the local forest officials. After a few hours of struggle, a snake rescuer from the local forest office managed to pull the king cobra out of the car. Though Ganapathi said the snake might have entered the car at Jagalpet, the rescuer stated that the reptile could have made its way into the vehicle at Kandewadi itself. The snake was later released in the forest nearby.