A video of a man giving water to a large but thirsty king cobra snake in India has gone viral after being uploaded to social media. The villager in Maharashtra was praised by people who saw the video, which showed him giving water to the dehydrated snake.
The snake had been spotted in a dry well by the man who was walking through the village on a hot day, the Daily Mail Online reported.
Because it was very hot, the man pulled the thirsty snake out of the well and offered it water. A number of villagers gathered around and a little girl screamed “Look! The snake is drinking water!”
The man chose not to offer the snake milk to avoid bacterial infections. In India, many Hindus offer milk to cobras, which they believe are the manifestation of the goddess Manasa Devi. This, they believe, will bring them good luck.
Whether people should offer food and water to wild snakes has been controversial in India. In March 2017, a video featuring a king cobra drinking water from a bottle went viral. The snake had been rescued by a forest officer near a power plant.
People should not offer food and water to a cornered snake, which only wants to escape, wildlife conservationist Janaki Lenin wrote in a Facebook post. She also said it was dangerous to manhandle king cobras as there is no antivenin available in India for their deadly bite.
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