Bhubaneswar: A common cobra which had partly swallowed a bottle of cough syrup and was unable to get rid of it, was rescued by a Snake Helpline team on Wednesday.
Snake experts gently handled the cobra’s jaws and managed to bring the bottle out without getting bitten. Wildlife officials said the snake got attracted to the smell of the syrup and swallowed the bottle.
“The bottle was big and it got stuck in the jaw (just a few centimetres in the mouth). Had it been a soft object of similar size, it could have well slipped into the cobra’s stomach,” said Susanta Nanda, principal chief conservator of forests, wildlife.
He said handling such cases of snake rescue requires deft handling. The snake was later released into the wild, Nanda added.
Local residents spotted the cobra battling with the bottle struck in its mouth and informed Snake Helpline. Snake expert and wildlife enthusiast Suvendu Mallick led the rescue. “I gently manipulated the fang and the jaw while maintaining caution to avoid being bitten. I just helped the reptile to regurgitate the bottle and it did so. It was released outside the city in its natural habitat,” Mallick told TOI.
He said the cobra was dehydrated as the bottle got stuck nearly a week ago. “The snake got attracted to the smell and swallowed the bottle,” he added.

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