NAKHON SI THAMMARAT – Soldiers from Sichon Special Forces Training Camp in Sichon District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, brought a large male king cobra over 4 meters long and weighing nearly 10 kilograms to Sichon Animal Hospital in Sichon District after it was bitten by a dog, then slithed up onto the mangosteen tree.
Veterinarian Dr. Piyaphorn Wattanapan said on February 14 that she anesthetized the snake to operate on a large wound on its abdomen near the anus as internal organs were protruding.
At the same time, she had to castrate the snake – the first king cobra to be forcibly neutered – to treat the wound, which had begun to rot. Otherwise, the snake might have died in a few days.
Lt. Pornpitak Chimkaraburi, an instructor, said the veterinarian did not charge for the treatment because the snake was a wild animal and would not be a burden to the soldiers. After treatment, the snake had to be taken back to Sichon Special Forces Training Camp, where it was further treated, its wounds cleaned and injected with antibiotics until it recovered. The king cobra was christened “Bunrod” (meaning lucky to survive). He will later be released back into the wild.
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world’s longest venomous snake. The species has diversified colouration across habitats, from black with white stripes to unbroken brownish grey.
A phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA showed that specimens from Surattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat Provinces in southern Thailand form a deeply divergent clade from those from northern Thailand, which grouped with specimens from Myanmar and Guangdong in southern China
The king cobra is not considered aggressive. It usually avoids humans and slinks off when disturbed, but is known to aggressively defend incubating eggs and attack intruders rapidly.
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