King Cobra captured in Mankulam, released into the wild
The Hindu
The snake was found near a house in Thalumkandam Kudy tribal settlement near Mankulam on Saturday morning.
Forest department officials captured a King Cobra from a human settlement in the Mankulam forest division in Idukki on Saturday evening. According to forest department officials, the snake was found near the house of Shathavelil Jayan, a resident of Thalumkandam Kudy tribal settlement near Mankulam, on Saturday morning. The tribal man then alerted the local natives, and they confirmed the presence of a King Cobra in the vicinity.
Upon being alerted by the villagers, the Forest department officials reached the spot and captured the snake.
Mankulam Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shantri Tom said that a section forest officer, Madhu C.T., who is trained to capture snakes caught the King Cobra with the assistance of Rapid Response Team (RRT) members. “The snake was later released into its natural habitat within a dense forest area of the Mankulam forest division,” said Mr. Tom.
According to Forest department officials, Mankulam is an active habitat of the King Cobra. Officials said that the snake captured on Saturday measured around 17 feet in length.