Cobra gulps fishing hooks in Odisha, goes under knife

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 13:

Veterinarians today successfully operated upon a cobra in Odisha capital which had gulped frogs laced with fishing hooks.

According to reports, a cobra had entered into the house of a villager in Madhapur in Boudh district yesterday. People laid frogs hung with the fishing hook to draw him out of the house. The cobra, however, took the baits which stuck in his neck.

When the residents learnt that the snake’s mobility has been restricted possibly due to the prey, they informed Snake Helpline members to rescue it. The injured snake was brought to Veterinary College of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) today where the doctors conducted an X-Ray for prognosis. The tests revealed that fishing hooks were the culprit behind the snake’s woes.

A team of doctors led by Prof Indramani Nath conducted the operation on the serpentine which took over one hour.

“Fishing hooks were found inside the snake’s body. We injected anesthesia before going ahead with the operation. The first metal object was taken out without much difficulty as compared to the second one,” Prof Indramani Nath said.

The experts are of the view that the snake should be kept under seven-day observation though the post-operative recovery is on expected lines.

Decision on releasing the 4.5 ft (143 cm) long and 850 gm Indian cobra (Naja naja) also known as Spectacled cobra will be taken after recovery, OUAT officials said.

“The doctors here have conducted such types of operation earlier. The operation took over an hour and was successful. The snake is doing well and will be under observation for a week. We will decide then where to release the snake,” founder member of Snake Helpline Subhendu Mallick said.