Jaipur, April 12: At least 50 babies of king cobra were found in the courtyard of one Nityananda Sethi of Balichandrapur in the district here.
The house owner stumbled across the baby snakes while digging the earth near his house. A king cobra had laid eggs there last month. “Many snakes prefer dense forest and mud-walled houses to lay eggs,” said Dibakar Panda, forest officer of Chandikhol.
Curious locals thronged the house to witness the new-born snakes. “We will release them in the nearby forest. Many snakes laid eggs in the nearby villages and on trees for which we have convinced the villagers not to kill the babies or destroy the eggs,” said the forest officer.
Each year the feral dogs, wild boars, jackals, water-monitors and fishing cats devour large numbers of eggs of the snakes and their babies. Many snakes, including the deadly poisonous King Cobra, Bandit Krait, Common Krait, Bamboo snake, Rat snake and Blue Krait, Panda informed.
Some non-poisonous snakes like the Indian Rock python laid eggs in these areas last month and the hatchlings are coming out of the eggs, the forest officer further informed.
–Agencies–