Bantala: A king cobra was shot dead Wednesday at Baragaunia Pandurisuni hills that come under Bantala forest range in Angul district sparking resentment among wild life lovers and environmentalists.
The alleged poachers are still at large.
According to locals, four to five villagers had been to Pandurisuni hills armed with their illegal rifles where came across the reptile swallowing a goanna. They shot the snake on its hood killing it on the spot. Later they carried the dead snake to the village to showcase their hunt.
The entire village turned up to take a look at the 12 feet and 4 inches long and 20cm in diameter reptile.
Later the Forest department was informed and Bantala forester Jayant Kumar Das reached the spot. The snake was recovered and a postmortem was carried out by Satkosia veterinary doctor Kishore Kumar Sahu.
According to elderly villagers, they had never seen such a large snake in their lives in Bantala area.
Wildlife lovers took exception to the incident, saying spotting a king cobra has been a rare these days. The snake is said to be a ‘vulnerable’ species under IUCN red list and is protected under schedule II of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
PNN