Chennai: A media report on sighting of a king cobra near the airport sent wildlife officials into a tizzy as there is very little chance of the ‘king’ surviving Chennai’s humidity. Forest department officials found out it was just a routine sighting of a common cobra and not a king cobra.
Top wildlife officials in the city were surprised by the report and contacted the snake catchers who attended to the complaint on Monday several times. “It was a harrowing day for us to explain to our superiors and answer wildlife enthusiasts on the incident. The rescued cobra is now under quarantine and it will be released into the wild soon.
The dog trainers at the airport spotted the snake and alerted the forest department. There have been several earlier instances of snakes being rescued near the city airport”, a source said.When contacted, forest ranger S. David Raj of city wildlife headquarters at Velachery said the rescue was a routine affair.
10/04/13 C.S. Kotteswaran/Deccan Chronicle
