This is the moment an animal handler known as ‘the snake charmer’ – with five years experience under his belt – catches an enormous king cobra in a shop with his bare hands.
According to local media, the 4.8-metre (15.7-foot) king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) was first spotted on a minimarket shelf in Kampung Merchong in the town of Pekan in the western Malaysian state of Pahang.
Video Credit: AsiaWire
According to local media, the huge reptile, which reportedly weighed seven kilogrammes (15.4 lbs), was caught by 23-year-old Shafiq Zulkifli, known to local residents as ‘the snake charmer’.
According to Zulkifli, who has been handling dangerous snakes for over five years, he caught the king cobra with his bare hands while under the supervision of local firefighters on the scene.
He explained: “I was informed by the shop owner and firefighters after the snake was seen behind a shelf at about noon.”
Zulkifli added that the cobra was “not aggressive” because it had just shed its skin and its news scales were “beautiful without any scratches”.
He claimed it took him just five minutes to catch the snake which he then placed in a large bag.
According to Zulkifli, the king cobra was released back into the wild in the area of Nenasi.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
