Members of the Snake Helpline in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, a southern state in India, are receiving praise for saving a cobra in distress. A video circulating online shows the snake struggling to breathe after mistakenly swallowing a bottle of cough syrup, thinking it was prey. According to Suvendu Mallick, a snake expert, the cobra was dehydrated because the bottle had been stuck in its mouth for almost a week.
The dramatic footage, shared on X by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda, reveals the bottle stuck inside the snake’s mouth. The situation seemed dire until locals contacted experts for help. The rescue team promptly arrived and carefully removed the bottle from the snake’s throat.
Despite the risks, their efforts were successful as they managed to safely dislodge the bottle, transforming a potentially tragic situation into a successful rescue. Since the video was shared online, it has gone viral, garnering over 84,000 views.
A Common cobra swallowed a cough syrup bottle in Bhubaneswar & was struggling to regurgitate it.
Volunteers from snake help line gently widened the lower jaw to free the rim of the base of the bottle with great risk & saved a precious life.
Kudos 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/rviMRBPodl— Susanta Nanda (@susantananda3) July 3, 2024
Speaking with media, Nanda explained, “The bottle was big and got stuck in the jaw (just a few centimeters in the mouth). Had it been a soft object of similar size, it could have slipped into the cobra’s stomach.”
Meanwhile, snake expert and wildlife enthusiast Suvendu Mallick, who rescued the snake, explained, “I gently manipulated the fang and the jaw while maintaining caution to avoid being bitten. I just helped the reptile to regurgitate the bottle and it did so. It was released outside the city in its natural habitat. The snake got attracted to the smell and swallowed the bottle.”
