MATI CITY, Davao Oriental – Residents of the province are alarmed by a series of encounters with king cobras that have been coming out of their habitats lately.
Residents in the village of Badas here killed two king cobras on Sunday.
Since the start of the month, at least 10 king cobras, locally known as Banakon, have been seen in the village, now called “agianan sa Banakon” (pathway of the king cobras) in the city.
At around 5 a.m. Sunday, resident Ariel Romano saw two Banakon preying on his chickens. This prompted Romano to call for help.
“I was really terrified to see my chickens running wildly so I grabbed my bolo and called for help," said the 47-year-old farmer.
Armed with bolos and sharpened bamboos, Romano’s neighbors followed the snakes’ trail, found where they hid, strategically encircled them and delivered the death blows.
The slain snakes were at least a meter long.
Last week, a three-year-old child barely escaped an attack by a Banakon in the same village.
The child was standing outside their house when a cobra was seen in an “attack position”-- raised up, its neck flattened, its fangs out -- and was ready to give the bite, when a passerby came to the rescue.
A local village animal hunter, who asked not to be identified, said king cobras only attacked humans when threatened, and when provoked by closely approaching objects or sudden movements.
“Their obvious presence is only caused by two things: they are hunting or that their habitat is destroyed because these snakes used to live in highland forest, preferring areas dotted with streams and lakes," the animal hunter said.
But village councilor Rey Catulong also blamed it on the scorching heat.
He said the snakes were getting out of their shelter because of the drought.
And there seems to be an exodus of the king cobras. Six king cobras were seen in Sitio (sub-village) Lower Tagawisan, two in Sitio Camansi and two others in Sitio Upper Tagawisan.
In Bansalan, Davao del Sur, the king cobras, although not endemic in the town, have suddenly appeared and even started attacking humans.
Last month, two farmers were killed by king cobras while a baby was spared because his parents were fast enough to parry the attack.
King cobras are highly venomous reptiles and are known to inhabit bamboo thickets and forests.
The snake has olive green, tan or black skin with pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. The underbelly is cream or yellow.
The king cobra is highly territorial and a hunter. It detects prey by flicking its tongue out to collect scents from the air.
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