Sixty-nine cobra hatchlings have been found in a house in Mirsarai, Chattogram, and the family members are living in fear of snakes. The discovery was made in the South Wahedpur area of Wahedpur union in the upazila.

Local inquiries show that Delwar Hossain and Ali Hossain from the area have long worked in Oman, and with that money built a house. Before they could move in, snakes had nested there. One by one, 69 cobra hatchlings have been recovered from their dream home. The family and others in the house live in fear, and the fear has spread through the whole neighbourhood. Although many hatchlings have been recovered, no large snake has been found yet.

A livestock officer said a cobra can lay at most 20-25 eggs at a time, which suggests there is not one but several large snakes there. One or two hatchlings are still being recovered from beside the house every day.

Alauddin, the elder brother of the two expatriates, said: "At first we thought they were ordinary non-venomous snakes. But then we saw they were all venomous cobra hatchlings. When night falls, the family is gripped by fear. We are always worried about the small children in the family. The snakes have been killed."

Mirsarai Upazila Livestock Officer Dr Zakirul Farid said the hatchlings were born there because they found a suitable environment. But they are venomous, and a bite could cause any kind of accident, so he advised the family to seek help from snake charmers and forest officials.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.