A man in Baling, Kampung Haji Abbas, was surprised to discover not one but three monocled cobras in his furniture shop. The man, who is in his 30s, only noticed the presence of the reptiles around 4:20pm on Thursday (Feb 1), according to Baling Civil Defence Force district officer Leftenan (PA) Mohd Faizol Aziz.
Mohd Faizol Aziz mentioned that two personnel from the district defence force were sent to the shop at about 4:40pm to capture the snakes. He stated that it took his men approximately 20 minutes to capture the dangerous reptiles, each of which were about 1.5m long. The snakes were then brought to the defence force district office before being handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department.
Mohd Faizol advised the public to be vigilant of their surroundings, particularly bushes, for the presence of dangerous animals. He suggested that the presence of the snakes might be attributed to the hot weather in Kedah, with the reptiles attempting to find cooler places and shelter from the heat.
The monocled cobra, also known as the monocellate cobra or Indian spitting cobra, is a prevalent cobra species throughout South and Southeast Asia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as Least Concern. The species can be found in India, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand.
