Conservation workers say Pitachhara’s natural forest offers a suitable habitat for the large cobras, which were found during mating season.
Four monocled cobras rescued from the basement of a factory in Chattogram’s Karnaphuli area have been released into a forest and wildlife conservation site in Khagrachhari district.
The snakes were released on Saturday afternoon at the Pitachhara Forest and Wildlife Conservation Initiative Centre in Matiranga upazila by Siddiqur Rahman Rabbi, founder of the Snake Rescue Team, and Mahfuz Russel of the Pitachhara Wildlife Conservation Initiative Centre.
Rabbi said he received a call at around 1:00pm on Thursday from someone in Karnaphuli, an industrial area in Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh.
“After going there, I saw that it was an industrial area. There were snakes inside the basement. I rescued four snakes one after another. Later, I brought them to the Pitachhara Forest and Wildlife Conservation Initiative Centre so they could be released safely,” he said.
Mahfuz Russel said Pitachhara has a large natural forest that provides a suitable habitat for snakes.
“There are many other snake species in the natural forest at Pitachhara, and the reason is that the ecosystem here is very good for snakes to survive,” he said.
“After bringing them to Pitachhara, we released them here. The most interesting thing is that all four snakes were quite large. Together, the four snakes weighed seven and a half kilograms. The snakes are around 15 to 20 years old. Among them, three are male and one is female. This is actually their mating season. I hope they will be able to live here well,” he added.
