Snakes on the loose! 50 baby cobras escape breeding farm in E China

World
Europe

Over 200 monocled cobra snakelets have escaped from a breeding farm in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, prompting a mass search operation to locate the potentially-venomous serpents.

The whereabouts of around 50 remain unknown, as medical authorities are on standby in case of snakebite reports.

The slippery reptiles, which belong to Chunyi Breeding Cooperative in the suburban Liuhe district in Nanjing, broke free on August 26. But the farm owner, Qin Guorong, failed to report the case to the police and has now been detained for investigation.

Qin said rain had caused cracks in the room flooring where the snakes were kept. “The snakes could slither away as long as there is a crack,” Qin told thepaper.cn.

He defended himself saying he believed the snakelets would not pose a serious threat as they would “die in several days since temperatures were falling.”

Around 150 of the snakes have been caught and killed, and the search for the other 50 or so is still underway.

Local authorities have dispatched an emergency medical team equipped with antivenom as a precautionary measure.

Although monocled cobra is considered as one of the world’s deadliest snakes, an official with Liuhe district government said there is no need for panic as the young snakes, which are about 20 centimeters long, are not highly toxic, and the tropical reptiles are not likely to survive the cold weather.

(Written by Cao Xiating, Zhou Yiqiu)

870km