An exclusive sight of a King Cobra devouring a python unfolded a visual treat for residents of Karadapa village under Satkosia Reserve in Angul district on Monday.
Later, the hooded serpent slithered into the kitchen of a local resident prompting the frightened family members to immediately seek help from the Forest Department officials.
Local snake helpline members rushed to the spot and rescued the huge reptile resting inside the house. Subsequently they brought the snake to Tikarapada forest office and released it into the forest. However, the giant serpent first threw up its meal before slithering into the wild.
Locals described the spectacle as a ‘once in a lifetime experience’.
“This King Cobra managed to survive the powerful constrictor and fed on it.
Pythons are dangerous and kill other snakes and small animals by suffocating them to death but in this case, the King Cobra was too large to beat,” said the snake helpline member.
King cobras are categorised as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Known to be the longest poisonous snake in the world, they love feeding on other snakes but when it catches up with a large serpent like python which themselves grow up to massive sizes, the encounter makes it worth watching.
(Edited by Suryakant Jena)