Karnataka: Dog dies fighting king cobra, saves labourers, children

Hassan, DHNS: A dog laid its life by fighting with a king cobra and saving the lives of daily wagers and children at Kattaya village in the taluk on Tuesday (March 18).

Shamanth of Kattaya village had two pet dogs, one a Pitbull breed and another a Doberman. He has named his Pitbull as Bheema and was fond of him.

On Tuesday when the labourers were working in the field, a 12-foot-long king cobra was spotted near the house. The snake had come near the children, who were playing and later hid under a coconut frond, in front of the house. 

The dogs after noticing the snake started barking and attacked it. Even as the owner called the dogs to move away, they were not in the mood to listen and continued their attack on the cobra.

The fight between the snake and the dogs continued for more than 15 minutes. During the attack, the snake bit ‘Bheema’ on its face.

King Cobra.

Undeterred, the dog fought with the reptile and stopped only after killing the snake biting it into 10 pieces. However, Bheema collapsed and died of the snake bite.

“If the dogs had not sighted the king cobra and attacked, it might have bitten the children or labourers. The presence of mind by the dogs averted a tragedy,” said the villagers.

Bheema had participated in various dog shows and had won prizes. His death has left Shamanth and family members shocked.