Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The King Cobra project hasn’t made much of a headway since two male snakes were brought in from Karnataka to Van Vihar here.
While maintaining a stoic silence over the project, Van Vihar officials have yet to decide when the mammoth reptiles will be put on public display.
The snakes were part of an animal exchange programme, with Van Vihar consenting to send a pair of tigers to Karnataka.
Sources said that under the King Cobra project, Van Vihar expects to breed the snakes. Once there is an adequate number of the reptile, they could also be released into the wild.
However, as of now, the officials are keeping mum. A senior Van Vihar officer said the higher authorities have prohibited them from speaking about the project. According to the buzz, since the project is dear to the CM, efforts are being made to get a suitable date from him to be present when the reptiles are put on public display.
Meanwhile, wildlife enthusiasts aren’t upbeat about the project. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said he failed to understand how breeding was possible with two male King Cobra snakes.
According to his knowledge, there was one female King Cobra in the Indore Zoo, but there was no clarity as to where it was brought from. He suggested that one of the male snakes could be taken to the Indore Zoo for mating.
Rubbishing the idea of eventually releasing King Cobra offspring into the wild, Dubey claimed there was no suitable site for their relocation in the state. “Before bringing cheetahs, a site identification was done. The forest officials should come clean on whether they have done any site selection for the release of King Cobra,” he said.
Commenting on Van Vihar’s preparedness, Dubey said that the park neither has a rescue squad for King Cobra nor an antidote to treat its bite.
