A venomous king cobra (raj gokhra) has been rescued in Mirsarai, Chattogram. Chattogram district leaders of the Bangladesh Wildlife Rescue Team rescued the snake from a man from the hills at Mithachhara bazar in the upazila on Tuesday 14 October.

Inquiries found that the man had caught the snake in the hills and for about a week had been wrapping it around his body to frighten people at Mithachhara bazar. He had also tried to sell it. The snake was rescued from him after the rescuers were tipped off.

Naimul Islam Niloy, joint general secretary of the Bangladesh Wildlife Rescue Team's Chattogram district unit, told Jagonews that the man had been illegally holding the king cobra for a long time. "He was using the snake to frighten people and extort money, and later kept it to sell. When we got the news, some of us posed as buyers with the help of local people, rescued the snake and brought it to safety."

He said the snake was seriously injured because its fangs had been pulled out and it had been used for shows. It is now being treated in his care under the supervision of Sohel Rana Saikat, herpetologist at the Bangladesh Forest Department. Once the 8-foot snake has fully recovered, it will be released into the forest through the forest department.

Sohel Rana Saikat told Jagonews: "The snake is in very bad condition. Its fangs have been removed and it has a head injury. Treatment is under way, and we hope it will recover in two or three days."

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