THE KINGS EMERGE IN GOA By Rahul Alvares cna at sancharnet.in
I am a snake catcher. Besides herps, I have two other passions: bodybuilding and heavy metal! However, I am going to use this space for wildlife only. I have loads of things I'd like to get off my chest (oops, sorry no bodybuilding), things that will make me feel a lot better if I know that you know about them too and that's what this column will be all about. The hottest news in Goa on the reptile front concerns an 11 foot king cobra caught in Mollem. About a year earlier a 14 foot king cobra was caught also caught in Mollem. Both were found in peoples' houses! I am truly surprised to find this sudden emergence of king cobras in Goa. In all the years gone by I had never heard of any kings in Goa . In fact I wasn't even sure we had any. What makes the king cobra a king? Is it its size - which could measure up to 18 feet? Is it its bite which has enough venom to kill an elephant? Or is it the fact that it feeds solely on other snakes, venomous and non-venomous? All this and more. But first let me tell you of my own experiences with the King. I first set eyes on the King four years ago when I was at the Madras Crocodile Bank learning snake handling. The legendary snake man Romulus Whitaker was making a movie on the king cobra for the National Geographic channel at Croc Bank. The star cast included 16 king cobras brought by Rom from all over India, Thailand and Malaysia. I wasn't allowed to handle them, of course as I was still learning to handle common cobras at that time. But I got to view them from very close quarters and man, I was entirely captivated. Over the years I have gained experience in handling all kinds of snakes but never the king. So last year I made a trip to Thailand and Malaysia especially to meet with the king which I finally did at the Queen Savobha institute in Thailand. In spite of my insistence that I was a good snake handler; I had a lot of difficulty convincing the guys there to allow me to handle the king. Even though the institute itself produces antivenin, the risk involved is so great that much caution is exercised. Perchance if I was bitten I could be dead in 15 minutes. One of the handlers stuck his hand in my face, the index finger wanting. "Swallowed by a king cobra" he soberly warned. But having come this far i couldn't take no for an answer. And so I bided my time. Everyday I would go to the Institute and from the audience stand intently watch the snake shows which were held twice a day. Sitting glued to my seat I would watch every move of the king and the moves of his handlers, my body tense with excitement as the handler poised his hand behind the giant snake's raised hood, and with one swipe grasp it firmly at the neck. Finally, on my last day in Thailand, moved perhaps by my persistence they relented and gave me one opportunity in the snake enclosure to handle the king. Under the watchful eyes of the instructors I finally got to achieve what I had wanted. And yes, I can certainly say with all confidence that the king cobra truly deserves the title King. (Funny - the female is also called a king cobra). If you look into its eyes you will know what i mean. The eyes show no fear, only amusement, thoughtfulness and perhaps irritation at this foolish human scampering around it. King cobras aren't really cobras - their hood is more long than broad. This gives it a kind of preoccupied look, like that of a person who knows how important he is, cameras flashing for every movement of its sleek, shiny, graceful body. King cobras can move with their hoods up, a feat which common cobras are unable to perform, and they very often strike with their mouths angrily open. This had me perplexed in the beginning, because "mouth open" means that the snake is at its wits end and is ready to pump you with every drop of venom it's got. Later I learnt that in case of king cobras "mouth open" still means a fake attack: the king is merely threatening you with dire consequences and hoping you will retreat. Just like common cobras, king cobras come in various colors, shapes and sizes. The ones in India are slender more feminine and lighter in color. All along the body they have thin white stripes, with an upside down V marking the hood. The king cobras in Thailand however are thicker, more robust and masculine than ours. They have very faint stripes if at all and are normally almost jet black in colour. In fact they are so different that antivenin (yes, the correct word is antivenin and not anti venom as commonly used) produced in Thailand is almost useless against a bite from a king cobra in India. So death is almost certain if one is bitten by the king in India. Hat's off therefore to RFO Prakash Salelkar for daring to trap the King in Mollem without the security of an antidote at hand. He admits it was one the scariest moments of his life. It would have been mine too. Now that we have seen two kings I am pretty sure more of them are going to turn up in the most unexpected places. The more forest lands we open up for development works, the scarcer becomes the deep dark recesses of forest where the kings normally prefer to inhabit. Disoriented and rendered homeless by our activities, the kings wander around uncertainly, turning up instead in peoples' houses. King cobras, like the tiger, are at the top of the food chain. Their presence indicates a healthy, balanced forest. We lose them, we lose a lot. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
