Rare cobra rescued in Puducherry

A rare Albino Monocled cobra with a whitish skin has been caught from a house here by the forest officials.

PUDUCHERRY: A rare Albino Monocled cobra with a whitish skin has been caught from a house here by the forest officials.

The two and a half-feet-long cobra, rescued on Saturday with the help of a private snake catcher, was rare because of its low skin colour due to lack of melanin pigment, Chief Wildlife Warden P Devaraj said.

The lack of melanin pigment was due to recessive gene and such a condition exists in one out of 10,000 cobras, he said.

The white colour exposed the cobra to the predators, including eagles. The snake has an eye shaped dot on its neck which becomes visible only when it raises its hood.

Normally the forest department would release cobras of common features into the jungles as soon as they were rescued. But the department had decided to retain this cobra in a specially designed enmeshed cabin for display to visitors to the department.

The Albino Monocled cobras feed on eggs of birds, rodents, mongoose and small animals.
ADVERTISEMENT

The department has several other species of the snakes in separate boxes which are meant to be seen by those visiting the department. A long python and Russell vipers and a few other types of snakes are also kept in separate cabins.

The Albino Monocled cobras are usually seen in rainforests as they cannot withstand the heat, and in bushy locations.

Devaraj said the department more often than not relies on the help of private snake catchers as was done in the present case while responding to calls for catching the reptiles.

He said the department also rescued recently a dog shaped water snake in a mangrove forest here.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App
for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App
for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
READ MORE
ADVERTISEMENT

LOGIN & CLAIM

50 TIMESPOINTS

More from our Partners

Loading next story
Business News › News › Environment › Flora & Fauna › Rare cobra rescued in Puducherry
Text Size:AAA
Success
This article has been saved

*

+