A forest officer who was recently filmed fearlessly rescuing an 18-foot king cobra in Kerala has said that it was her dream to rescue the reptile and it took her only minutes to achieve the brave feat.
In the daring video, Forest Beat Officer G S Roshni was seen picking the enormous snake, known to be one of the most venomous reptiles on the planet, with a snake-catching stick out of a stream in the Paruthipalli Range. Talking to Manorama News, the brave officer opened up about the rescue that earned her widespread praise online.
"It was my dream to rescue a king cobra. All snake rescuers are interested in this. King Cobras are far and few in Thiruvanthapuram district, it is a shy variety of snake. It is usually not interested in coming out from the interiors to places where there is human habitation," she said in Malayalam.
{{/usCountry}}"It was my dream to rescue a king cobra. All snake rescuers are interested in this. King Cobras are far and few in Thiruvanthapuram district, it is a shy variety of snake. It is usually not interested in coming out from the interiors to places where there is human habitation," she said in Malayalam.
{{/usCountry}}Roshni said she is part of an RRT (Rapid Response Team) that specialises in rescuing all types of wild animals. "I have sometimes wanted to go to places like Pathanamthitta, where many King Cobras have been rescued. It felt like yesterday's King Cobra was kept for me. I am very happy. I rescued it very safely and released it," she said, adding that it only took her six minutes to grab the snake and put it safely inside a bag.
Watch the video of the dramatic rescue here:
The video, which gained thousands of views on social media, was flooded with comments praising the officer for her fearless rescue. "Salute to brave forest officer Roshni ji,” said one user while another added: “18 feet long cobra—that’s insanely huge.”
Many others heaped praises about her dedication and skills. "Really a dangerous attempt by Forest Officer. Officials should reward her. Daring officer. Kudos madam," said one of them.