Monocled Cobra

This member of the Cobra family is commonly found near wetland areas. I have always been fascinated by them, more so because of the folk tales I had heard during my childhood where they would be invariably referred to as “kal keute” and were attributed with supernatural powers. I got the opportunity to see a monocled cobra up close only after I became a part of Calcutta Snake Park last year. The first time I saw it, I was struck by the graceful way it carried itself, coiling the lower part of its body, and skillfully balancing its torso on the coils, striking a pose like an elegant lady haughtily contemplating her surroundings and occasionally swaying a little as if trying to hypnotize its audience. The piercing stare, the smooth yet purposeful body movements, and sheer elegance makes the monocellate cobra every wildlife photographer’s dream. Thanks to Dipak Mitra Sir, renowned herpetologist, owner of Calcutta Snake Park and my teacher, I have been able to shoot this cobra a number of times from a very close range. 


One of these memorable occasions took place in a lush green garden in Shantiniketan where Sir had taken one of his monocellates with him for shooting a sequence in a Feluda film. Photographing venomous snakes from a close range is both a thrilling and a nerve wracking experience because you have to search for the closest angles possible while trying to stay out of the striking range of the angry snake. As Sir let the snake out on the grass, for a moment I was rendered speechless–the cobra moved swiftly across the lawn, its dark body with the prominent hood mark contrasting against the bright green sunlit grass, radiating sheer iridescence, which made it look more than ever like one of those magical creatures from my childhood tales. At one point, when Sir was distracting the snake with his hand, I went close to take a side shot, and was awed by the defiant way it held itself, even when confronted with so many humans. 

The next time when I got to shoot the monocled up close, the whole thing turned out to be one of the most exciting experiences of my life- Sir taught me the techniques of handing a cobra. Monocled cobras are generally short tempered and raise their hood even when slightly irritated. The snake was about four and a half feet in length. Once put on the ground, it raised its hood and started hissing and striking, trying to escape from the group of humans surrounding it. One of the staff of the Calcutta Snake Park came forward, got a firm grip near its tail and handed me a snake handling stick. I gripped the snake near its tail firmly, gently slid the stick under its belly to support it and then raised the stick with the snake on it. At first the snake seemed confused, moving its head from side to side, agitated as everybody tried to distract it so that I could figure out the correct way to hold the stick. Gradually, it calmed down a little and balanced itself on the stick with its hood raised. I noticed every detail of the eye-shaped circular hood mark which distinguishes it from other cobras. It looked almost like a work of art, vibrant and gorgeous, a reminder of the unparalleled beauty which nature is capable of unfolding before us. For a moment I forgot that I was holding a venomous snake capable of killing me with one bite if it could inject the lethal dose. I was holding the snake midway from the ground and I could see the top of its head, and the way it nervously moved its head to look at the string of humans standing so close. Viewed from that angle, in spite of its majestic demeanor, it looked vulnerable and somehow reminded me of the way my cats look when I hold them close to my chest. I could not help but feel a wave of pity for it. The “fearsome”, “aggressive” “poisonous” cobra so feared and hated by humans, seemed to be nothing but another frightened creature struggling to survive in the face of systematic decimation of its environment by humans. I suddenly felt a lump form in my throat as I realized that despite the fact that this planet belongs to them as much as it does to us, they are fugitives, misunderstood, hated, killed, hunted by snake charmers, and robbed off their habitats by the mad rush for unplanned urbanization and development.

I held the snake for a second time after I let it go on the ground and this time I was more confident as a result of which the snake was also more relaxed. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, not only because I had handled a venomous snake, but because the experience had greatly strengthened my resolve to get more involved in the struggle to save these misunderstood creatures from extinction.

Monocellate cobras are extremely shy of humans and never venture close to them. Even if they encounter humans, they simply move away. The only time they become defensive is if they are provoked or cornered. I had once encountered a spectacled cobra on the hills near Elephanta Caves. It was gliding across a rocky boulder on the hillside. When I ventured close to take pictures, it stopped for a moment to give me a curious glance and then resumed its journey lazily without paying any further attention to me. A spectacled cobra, however, generally does not get agitated as fast as the monocled cobra and it takes some time for it to get angry and raise its hood. I have seen the same behavior in captive ones at Calcutta Snake Park.

Ninety percent of the time the amount of venom injected by a cobra bite is too little to cause any serious harm. Potency of cobra bites is also low as compared to, say, that of the members of the krait family and only in five percent of the cases the bite may prove to be fatal. In a majority of the cases, the victims die of cardiac arrest which happens out of fear. Sometimes deaths happen on account of ignorance. Sir once spoke of an incident in Sundarbans where a young boy had died of “snake bite”. When Sir was called to examine the body, he found the teeth of checkered keelback lodged in the skin near the bite wound. Checkered keelback is non-venomous snake commonly found near water bodies which primarily feed on fish. Curious to know how the boy could die from the bite of a non-venomous snake, Sir questioned the boy’s family. The boy’s parents had taken him to an “ojha” who had advised them to feed him poison based on the old Bengali adage, “bishe bisho khae hae” (one poison cancels out the effect of another poison). Following the advice of the ojha, the boy’s father made him drink folidol and the boy died immediately. Everybody  had thought he had died because of cobra bite!!!

This is not to say that you should treat a cobra like your pet dog. It is a reptile. It does not have the requisite intelligence to recognize love and emotions. For it, striking is a defensive mechanism to protect itself when an enemy comes too near. Accordingly, the most sensible thing to do is to leave it alone.  A wild animal should be treated with respect and each and every one of us should maintain our distance from it. If you see a snake, do not unnecessarily disturb it or make it feel threatened by going too near it. If you leave it alone, the snake will also mind its own business because a snake almost never strikes unless it feels cornered.

While learning how to handle a snake is important if you are planning to conduct rescues, you should handle them in the wild only when absolutely necessary. Snake handling has a certain appeal to it because the close proximity with the snake helps you to understand its behavior, body language and muscle movement. Personally I think that it is the best way to spread awareness and debunk some of the common myths about snakes. However, one must remember that just like a human being, no two snakes are alike.  Every snake has a different personality. If you have handled a cobra in captivity, there is no guarantee that you can handle its counterpart in the wild with equal ease. Thus, unless you are faced with a situation where you need to rescue a snake urgently, never attempt to hold a snake.