Venomous king cobra found in Jhapa for the first time

A king cobra, considered the world’s largest venomous snake, has been found for the first time in Jhapa. The snake was rescued around 1:30 pm from the house of local resident Ranbahadur Chemjong in Buddhashanti Rural Municipality-7.

This is the first recorded rescue of a king cobra in Jhapa. Snake rescuer Kripesh Karki reached the site after receiving information, but due to the large size of the snake, he called for help. Experienced rescuers Shyam Pradhan and Birendra Tiwari also joined, and after about an hour of effort, the team managed to safely rescue the snake.

The cobra was first taken to the Buddhashanti Rural Municipality office, and then handed over to the Division Forest Office in Charali. Forest staff officially took it into their control. The snake weighed about 8.5 kilograms and measured 12.5 feet in length.

Later, under the coordination of the District Forest Office Bhadrapur, the king cobra was released into a community forest in Birtamod, in its natural habitat, according to Devendra Kharel, chairperson of the Mechi Wildlife and Bird Conservation Society.

Kharel said snakes should not be killed, as they are an important part of nature. Species like the king cobra help maintain environmental balance by controlling both venomous and non-venomous snakes, along with smaller animals.

He also noted that in many parts of Nepal, people still kill snakes on sight, which threatens the ecological chain. Finding a king cobra in Jhapa is a rare event. This species is mostly found in the tropical forests of India, Bhutan, and Assam, and in Nepal, they are usually seen only in dense forests of the Terai region.