A 12-foot long king cobra was successfully rescued by the forest department in Mettupalayam. The snake had been immobile for two days in a forested area adjacent to an agricultural plantation.
Villagers from Palapatti, a village in the Sirumugai forest area near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district, alerted the Sirumugai forest department upon spotting the king cobra in a nearby bush.
Responding to the call, the Sirumugai forest department, along with professional snake catchers, arrived at the scene and embarked on a two-hour operation to rescue the snake. Despite the inherent dangers of approaching such a deadly venomous reptile, the skilled snake handlers managed to extract the king cobra from its hiding place.
The rescued king cobra was found to be approximately 12 feet in length. Upon examination, it was discovered that the snake was in a weakened and tired state, likely due to lack of food. This condition had rendered it unable to move. The forest department noted that king cobras tend to remain stationary during their mating season, which could explain its immobility.
Given the snake's proximity to agricultural plantations, the forest department decided to safely relocate the king cobra to a denser forest area where it was released.