King cobra rescued, jumbo caught in slush dies in Kovai

The estate workers spotted the reptile earlier in the day and informed the forest personnel, who began the rescue operation. The rapid response team and field staff of the department, who have been trained in handling snakes, caught the reptile at Field Number 3, less than a kilometre from the forest boundary and safely took it out of the estate in a cage. “The reptile did not suffer any injury and was released in the T Nadugani forest,” District Forest Officer (DFO) Gudalur Division, P K Dileep, said. The DFO said that it is the third king cobra that has been captured successfully and released in the wild in the Gudalur Forest Division this year. 

Meanwhile, death of jumbos in Coimbatore and nearby areas due to the drought has been reported in recent times. In the latest incident, a 10-year-old female that was caught in a slush with very little water near Sembukkarai tribal hamlet in Bolampatti Forest Range in Coimbatore District, died on Thursday after a two-day struggle. The efforts of the forest department to help it get back on its feet with the help of an earthmover went in vain. 

“The elephant calf, which was part of a herd, might have strayed in search of water,” District Forest Officer (DFO) S Ramasubramanian said. He told DT Next that the elephant suffered injuries when it got stuck in the deep slush. On Wednesday, a group of grazers from the nearby Sembukkarai tribal hamlet went in search of a lost cow and accidentally noticed the elephant struggling. Forest veterinarian N S Manoharan said that they had tried their best to save the jumbo, but in vain. With no roads to the steep stream it took about six to seven hours for an earthmover to clear the path and reach the spot. Autopsy revealed that it had suffered inuries on the ribs and head. Later, the carcass was buried.