15-feet-long king cobra rescued from village in Visakhapatnam, released into wilderness

A 15-feet-long king cobra was released into Cherukupalli Reserved Forest on Monday after being rescued from Tammadapalli village of Visakhapatnam district, with the help of forest officials and a local snake rescuer.

The snake was first spotted by farmers at Tamgudapalli village of Chidikada Mandal, triggering pc among locals. Farmers called forest officials and informed about the snake, following which the team reached the spot.

Visakhapatnam District Forest Officer C Selvam said, "We received information from the villagers. My team immediately reached the spot along with Wildlife NGO conservation. We rescued the snake and released it in the nearby forest of Cherukupalli."

"We can find them in very few forests. We found 12 snakes in the last 18 months in Visakhapatnam forest region. King cobra can eat other snakes. There is no medicine for cobra snakebite. We use specially trained people for rescuing snakes," Selvam added.

King cobra is the world's longest venomous snake. It is threatened by habitat destruction and has been listed as 'Vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2010.

( With inputs from ANI )