King cobra spotted at Tillari reserve

A clip from the video by Shubham Dharne, which shows the cobra feasting on a monitor lizard. It’s rare for the snake to be encountered by humans

In what can be termed an important sighting, a photographer in Sindhudurg spotted a King cobra at the newly declared Tillari Conservation Reserve. The sighting is unusual, as this snake is usually seen in the southern Indian states.

According to the forest department officials, the cobra was captured on camera. A nature and wildlife lover, Shubham Dharne, took a video of the snake as it feasted on an Indian monitor lizard on the bank of the river. Herpetologist Dr Varad Giri from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said, "In Maharashtra, the Tillari Conservation Reserve is the only forest where such a sighting has been reported. Its occurrence here reaffirms the recent decision of declaring this forest as a reserve."

Officials working in the field of wildlife research and conservation had told mid-day that such sightings had occurred before, but there was no recorded evidence. The King cobra is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world. In the Western Ghats, it is commonly seen in the southern parts.