37 eggs found near Dharmasthala, 36 'babies' born in Pilikula

About 36 baby king cobras were born at King Cobra Captive Breeding Centre at Dr Shivarama Karanth Biological Park, Pilikula Nisarga Dhama near Mangalore.

About 37 eggs were found in a farm land near Dharmasthala. The farmer handed over the eggs to Pilikula. The eggs were hatched artificially for 80 days. Out of 37 eggs, 36 baby king cobras were born. Each baby is one to one and half foot long. All the babies are healthy, said Director H Jayaprakash Bhandary.

The park authorities created an artificial atmosphere in an enclosure to enable hatching of eggs abandoned. “We need to feed the King Cobra babies for two months. We will feed with little insects initially. Later, we will supply them with rats. After rearing it for one year, we will release these snakes into the wild, especially in the dense forest of Western Ghats.”

This is the second time that eggs were hatched in Pilikula. About 80 young ones were born after hatching in 2011.

“King Cobra Captive Breeding Centre was started at the Pilikula with the help of Zoo Authority of India, to make a study on the breeding. We have created a natural atmosphere by maintaining humidity and temperature to enable the eggs to hatch,” he said.

It is a wellknown fact that King cobras are highly poisonous snakes. However, even young ones are poisonous. Even if the baby king cobra bites a person, there are all possibility of him dying. Hence, we need to be very cautious while feeding,” he explained.