SHIVAMOGGA: A king cobra of exceptional size, weighing approximately 12.5 kg and measuring around 15 feet, was rescued by herpetologist Dr P Gowri Shankar at Nadpal village in Hebri taluk of Udupi district.
King cobras (Ophiophagus hannah), the world's longest venomous snakes, are native to South and Southeast Asia. They are known to reach lengths of up to 18 feet in Thailand, while the longest king cobra recorded in India, in captivity, measured 15 feet.
Dr Shankar said that during the breeding season from February to May, king cobras actively seek partners, resulting in increased human-snake conflicts. As part of the Kalinga Foundation's mission to mitigate such conflicts, Dr Shankar and his team respond to a number of king cobra rescue calls during this period.
One such call came from Bhaskar Shetty of Nadpal village, located approximately 35 kilometres from Agumbe on Sunday. Dr Shankar, accompanied by Prashanth, arrived at the scene and was astounded when he saw the king cobra.
Dr Shankar noted that the average weight of king cobras typically ranges from 3.5 to 7 kilograms, with females weighing between 2 and 3.5 kilograms and males weighing between 3.5 and 6 kilograms. However, the king cobra rescued at Nadpal village weighed an astonishing 12.5 kilograms, making it the heaviest specimen he had ever encountered.
Dr Shankar stressed the significance of this discovery, stating that it is encouraging to observe a healthy and robust male king cobra thriving in the Malnad region. This observation serves as evidence of a healthy predator-prey balance and the tolerance that these snakes enjoy in the local ecosystem.