BY PRASANTA KU. DASH

Kathmandu, August 5: As the law of nature, snakes usually live in burrows/holes- either pre-existing or effectively made by the reptiles. Apart from it, different species of Cobras and other typical snakes prefer to live in ghost termite mounds/ hills for their safety & security. Thus, making nests like birds by snakes, is one of the rarest occasion, as per the herpetologists. However, Nepal Forest Department has recently discovered a King Cobra nest, meticulously crafted by a mother king Cobra, to lay & hatch eggs.

Found by the locals in a community forest while venturing into the wild for collecting wild mushrooms the extraordinary wildlife has been discovered. It’s the near Jhakri Sota in the Ambe Community Forest, where the local tribal communities came across a carefully built nest of a king cobra. The mother King Cobra was found warming up a number of eggs inside the nest meticulously made like a basket, laid prettily before. Apart from it, the snake traces / trails made around the nest, revealed that the reptile has been keeping vigil on its eggs, probably after some days following the rare nest was discovered by the Green Men.

The community immediately alerted local conservationists and forest officials and the snake-helpline, for protection of the expected hatchling and also for the safety & security of the locals , preventing them to venture into the forest where the venomous snake was on the prowl. Subsequently, the area was secured quickly to minimize disturbance to the nesting female. The report also stated that officials temporarily closed off the forest around it to protect people and wildlife. Officials have so far restricted access while conservationists monitor the site frequently to ensure security to the to-be-hatched eggs. The Division Forest Office also increased surveillance working close with the reptile lovers in close coordination with the community forest users committee to ensure the area remains undisturbed till the hatching process of the warmed-up eggs.

According to the forest officials those are deployed for the reptile’s easy-roam in and around the nest said that the world’s longest venomous snake, measuring more than 18 feet (5.5 metres) long constantly keeps vigil on its eggs while it responds all external disturbances with louder hiss and hood-hit- whether its wind or a fall of dry leaf with a dropping sound. Apart from it, the snake even recorded every signature of forest officials those frequented into the periphery, watching it right from the nest, standing up above in the air, on its air-filled tail. It’s was all in fear of predators.

With the news of the female King Cobra and its nest-making mechanism, that too collecting leaves,twigs, dry climbers and straws from its very habitat made the rounds, herpetologists from almost across the globe thronged the site, to capture the unprecedented phenomenon of the wild. Similarly, mass communication institutions that deal with Geographical Mysteries, Climate Change and Green-Planet initiatives, are on persistent touch with the ‘Nepal Forest’ to take account of the rarest scene involving the longest olive-green & black venomous snake of the earth.