Even Cobra hatchlings are lethal, caution experts

Warning comes after video of a Malayalam actor holding a hatchling on her palm goes viral

04/05/2020, K.S. SUDHI ,KOCHI

The venom in a hatchling is of high concentration.

It doesn’t require an adult cobra to snuff the life out of you; even hatchlings are capable of it, warn herpetologists.

Snake specialists sounded caution on handling snakes after a video of a Malayalam actor holding the hatchling of a cobra on her palm went viral on social media. The hatchling, a few centimetres in length, could be seen holding its hood up in the video and launching itself forward as if to strike.

Oblivious of the risk, the actor continued speaking on video the about the compassion to be shown towards such small guests.

The actor was also seen introducing the snake to some children.

‘Enough venom’

“The young cobra has enough venom, fully developed fangs and a poison delivery system sufficient enough to kill an adult person or cause serious health risks. The cobra venom is neurotoxic. It was suicidal on the actor’s part to hold the snake on her palm and go for a video recording,” said Jose Louies, an IUCN specialist on snakes.

Cobra is one of the four venomous snakes that accounts for most of the snakebite deaths in the country. Russell’s viper, Saw-scaled viper and the Common krait are the other members of the lethal league.

The venom in the cobra hatchling would be of high concentration. The striking distance between the snake and the human body was a few centimetres in this case. With its agility, the young snake could strike at any angle with lightning speed, said Mr. Louies, also the founder of Indiansnakes, a website that tracks snakes and snakebites.

Snakes hatch towards the end of summer months and the chance of encountering them were higher during the monsoon period. Most cases of snakebite occurred during monsoon, he said. Ideally, one should stay away from snakes.

Steps to be taken

If confronted in an unavoidable situation, the movement of the snake could be restrained by covering it with a bucket and then waiting for snake rescuers to arrive.

In case of a hatchling, they should be removed from the area safely, Mr. Louies suggested.