Name: Indian Monocled Cobra Safely Rescued in Sundarbans - Human & Environment Alliance League
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T15:56:11+05:30
Description: Recently, the HEAL team responded to an urgent call from Baikuntapur village in Kultali, Sundarbans. An Indian Monocled Cobra had become trapped inside a

Indian Monocled Cobra Safely Rescued in Sundarbans

06 January 2026

Recently, the HEAL team responded to an urgent call from Baikuntapur village in Kultali, Sundarbans. An Indian Monocled Cobra had become trapped inside a fishing gear in the fields.

Monocled Cobra rescue in Kultali, Sundarbans by the HEAL team

Villagers said the snake had been stuck for quite a few days, but they were afraid to go near it. The Monocled Cobra is highly venomous and can eject venom accurately when threatened. Their decision to keep a distance and inform the rescue team likely prevented serious injury.

Our team reached within 20 minutes, carefully freed the cobra from the fishing gear, and released it safely back into the wild.

When we asked why they hadn’t called earlier, the villagers said:

“Earlier, when a snake got trapped like this, we would just kill it. But recently we saw the hoardings put up by HEAL in our village — about snake identification, safety do’s and don’ts, and the numbers to call if a snake was seen in human habitations. So we remembered and called you.”

Snake Awareness Hoardings set up by HEAL in different villages of Sundarbans helped save an Indian Monocled Cobra — Snake Awareness Hoardings set up by HEAL in different villages of Sundarbans

These awareness hoardings, installed with support from the Upadhyaya Foundation, helped save an Indian Monocled Cobra today — and protected the community as well.

This rescue is a simple but powerful reminder: Awareness leads to action. Action leads to peaceful coexistence.

Human-snake coexistence

The Indian Monocled Cobra is a striking snake that plays a vital role in India’s agricultural landscape, acting as a natural guardian of paddy fields by controlling rodent populations. While currently listed as a species of Least Concern, it faces modern conservation challenges ranging from illegal wildlife trade for skins to the emerging threat of plastic ingestion in human-impacted wetlands.

To prevent rampant persecution of snakes due to the fear that ensues from instances of and deaths from snakebites, HEAL organises awareness generation campaigns that increase people’s knowledge of snakes and acquaint them with ways to avoid snakebites and ensure the survival of a snakebite victim. Read more about our Human-snake conflict mitigation efforts here.