15 cobras hatch in captivity, courtesy wildlife workers

Wildlife workers helped in hatching of 15 cobras from around 100 eggs of the reptile found on the outskirts of Chennai, by giving it a required environment to hatch.

Chennai, Sept 12 : Wildlife workers helped in hatching of 15 cobras from around 100 eggs of the reptile found on the outskirts of Chennai, by giving it a required environment to hatch.

The wildlife workers who found the eggs of the reptile, kept it in an earthen pot filled with sand, and covered it with a cloth.

"We will keep them for another one week and provide glucose water and small insects as feed. After first moulding, we will be releasing these young ones into far flung forest areas," said K S Sathyamoorthy, Wildlife Range Officer.

King cobra is mainly found in Asia and preys on snakes and small animals like rats and lizards.

Snakes are worshipped in many parts of India and it is against religious beliefs to kill them.

Animal rights activists say the habitat of cobra is fast disappearing and it is killed in large numbers for medicinal use.

ANI