Mangalore: King Cobra Family Multiplies at Pilikula Nisargadhama

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (VA)

Mangalore, Aug 1: The country’s first captive breeding centre for King Cobras at the Pilikula Nisargadhama (Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park), Moodushedde, here has seen phenomenal success with the increase in the number of cobras yet again.

The three cobras - 'Rani', 'Nagaveni' and 'Nagamani' have hatched the 32 out of 82 eggs at the park and the process is still on. The eggs started hatching late on Sunday and all the eggs would be hatched in about a week, informed the park sources.

Speaking to Daijiworld H J Bhandary, the director, Pilikula Biological Park said that the juveniles are already about one and a half feet and for about two years they might have to be hand-fed. Once they are all set to explore their surroundings most of them would be let out in the forest and the park would keep only few of them, he added.

There are 12 King Cobras at the captive breeding centre, of which seven are male. The movements of these reptiles are observed through closed-circuit TVs.  After mating, a female cobra takes 40-45 days to lay eggs. Each cobra lays about 20-40 eggs. Every stage of the breeding activity is being documented.

The captive breeding project was taken up as per the Central Zoo Authority directive in 2003. A natural forest has been created in the enclosure, which simulates natural conditions in the Western Ghats. This enclosure is not open for visitors. The park has 175 snakes of 27 different species.