Bhubaneswar: A cobra that entered into a birdcage and devoured three chicks had to hide inside a pot in the cage as the mother birds retaliated. The incident took place in Ragadi village under Banki police limits of Cuttack district.
Satya Ranjan Mohapatra, a resident of Ragadi village, had kept some pet birds in a cage. He and his other family members got up Thursday night after hearing the birds chirp unusually.
Satya went near the cage only to see a three-foot-long cobra slithering inside the cage. He then contacted snake helpline members. After a while, snake helpline coordinator Lalit Mohan Panda and member Durga Madhab Mohapatra reached his house and attempted to rescue the snake along with the birds.
“By the time the members arrived, the snake had already gobbled up three chicks. After the snake attempted to eat the eggs inside, the three birds started attacking the snake simultaneously. The attack was so fierce that the reptile had to disgorge the chicks. Even after that, the birds continued their attack forcing the cobra to slither into the earthen pot kept inside the cage to save its life,” Satya narrated.
The angry birds did not even allow the snake rescuers to get the snake out of the pot. Whenever they tried to get it out, the birds pecked it. The snake got so terrified that it coiled inside the pot and stopped putting out its hood.
Finding no other way out, Durga Madhab put his hand into the cage and very carefully took the birds out of the cage. Surprisingly enough, after shifting of the birds, the snake came out of the pot on its own. The snake was then caught and released at a nearby jungle.