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Coronavirus: Hunters in Arunachal Pradesh are heard to say they killed King Cobra
Guwahati
A group of hunters was seen on video with a 12-foot-long King Cobra killed for a feast in Arunachal Pradesh. In the video that was widely shared on social media, three men are seen with the corpse of the poisonous snake slung over their shoulders. They are heard saying that they killed the reptile in the jungle.
They made elaborate arrangements for the party and placed banana leaves to cut and clean the meat.
One of them is heard saying in the video that they have no rice left in their barns due to the closure in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So we went into the jungle looking for something, and we found this (King Cobra),” said one of the men.
A case has been brought under the Wildlife Protection Act against them, authorities said, adding that the men are fleeing.
The King Cobra is a reptile protected under the law and killing it is a crime that cannot be given bail. Arunachal Pradesh is home to a large number of endangered snake species.
Investigators recently discovered a new species of poisonous snake and named it after the fictional character of JK Rowling Salazar Slytherin, co-founder of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The viper was discovered by a team of researchers in the thick evergreen forests of the Pakke Tiger Reserve in July 2019 and has been named Trimeresurus Salazar, a Harry Potter character.
