Asemi-evergreen forest area in central Kerala on Sunday witnessed a rare battle between a King Cobra and Monitor Lizard and the ferocious fight was captured on video by forest officials patrolling the Thundam range under the Malayattor division, 50 km from here.
The clash between the reptiles took place on a road passing through the forest.
”It was the rarest of rare sights,” said Muhammed Rafi, Thundam forest ranger. He said his colleagues witnessed the fight while they were patrolling the area. ”They reached the spot in the middle of the fight. They recorded it till the reptiles ended it and left the place”, Rafi told PTI. While the snake slithered towards the woods, the monitor lizard went in the opposite direction where a canal was located, he said. ”My colleagues monitored the movements of both reptiles after they ended their fight. The monitor lizard had suffered several bites of the King cobra but it did not show any symptoms of the venom affecting its body,” the ranger said. The snake also escaped unhurt though it was attacked by the monitor lizard using its strong claws, teeth, tail and limbs, he added. He said it is not known which reptile attacked first. The video has gone viral.
According to officials, both monitor lizards and king cobras are present in good number in the Thundam forest range.
