VITALITY OF THE COBRA

Otago Witness, Issue 3342, 3 April 1918, Page 39

VITALITY OF THE COBRA

The following extract from a recent lettei from Poona has been sent us by its recipient,., a. resident of Dunedin: "Yesterday I killed a cobra on the front verandali, trie first I have ever had to deal with, though I have made the acquaintance of "several other species. The servants drew my attention to it, and I dealt with it in the usual way with a light cane, a strike from which breaks its back .and renders it unablo to strike; but altliougli I broke its back and neck in this way it showed tremendous ■'■■ vitality and fight. Its hissing was. more liks a oat spitting, than anything else, and it looked quite an impressive beast with"!its hood out and Bin or Bin of Us h»ad and neck arched up. It made no attempt to escape, as most of them do, but prepared to defend itself. Indians usually crush their heads out of all recognition, which renders most snakes unrecognisable, for the only sure guide to the species is the arrangement of the head scales; in a cobra even the hcod and spectacles mark are sametimes obscured, but this fellow had fine dark spectacles on a light brown ground very well marked. I did not want to destroy his head, however, and as I knew they had great vitality and thai he would live even with a broken neck for a considerable time, I proceed'cl to drownit by putting it in a tub of water with ita head under. Three-quarters of an hour later it proved quite limp on investigation, sc I 1 picked it up and its tail began to. coil round my hand, ". . . the back being broken, there was no risk even if it were alive, . . . and I thought it a remarkable example of convulsive working after death. I laid, it but and measured it on the back verandah (2ft lOJin), and I left it there. Two hours later it was still 'dead,' when I showed it •to —, but an hour later still she called mo to eeo it. It was wriggling vigorously and shooting out its tongue, so I gave it two hours more of the water tub, which finally settled it. Apparently it is with good reason, that the Indians smash the head."