A king cobra was sighted in a residential area on Balacbac Road, Sto. Tomas Proper, Baguio City on September 12. (Photo courtesy of Northern Exotics and Wildlife Troopers Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines — A king cobra was spotted in a residential area on Balacbac Road, Sto. Tomas Proper, Baguio City on September 12, a wildlife conservation team said.
In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net on Thursday, a veterinarian from Baguio-based group, Northern Exotics and Wildlife Troopers (N.E.W.T.), stated that the reptile was seen by a concerned citizen at 10 a.m. that day and was reported to them in the evening.
However, due to the huge gap in the time of sighting and reporting, N.E.W.T. was unable to respond, and the cobra might still be in the area as of writing.
“Masyadong malawak ‘yung area na iko-cover since residential siya at maraming dapat kausapin, ang ginawa namin ni-refer namin sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) kasi naka-partner naman kami sa kanila,” Sean Serrano said.
(The area to be covered is too wide since it is residential and there are many people to inquire with. We referred it to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) because we are partners with them.)
He added that this is not an isolated case, and two cases of cobra spotting were also prompted to them last year.
Serrano then urged the public to report any sighting of the venomous snake urgently and never try to catch it themselves to avoid danger.
“Kung mae-ecounter nila i-report nila as immediately as possible either sa N.E.W.T., sa DENR, or sa Philippine National police, tapos huwag nila ita-try hulihin at saktan kasi most of the time doon nangyayari ang disgrasya,” Serrano said.
(If they ever encounter cobras, they should report it as immediately as possible either to the N.E.W.T., the DENR, or the Philippine National Police. They shouldn’t try catching and hurting them because most of the time, that’s when the danger happens.)
“Usually kasi super limited ang supply ng anti-venom, ang mayroon lang kadalasan is ang Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) sa Quezon City, so ‘yung supply ng gamot ay super controlled,” he furthered.
(Usually, the supply of anti-venom is super limited, and the only one that usually has it is the RITM in Quezon City, so the drug supply is super controlled.)
Meanwhile, DENR CENRO Baguio City Project Support Officer John Ivan Palayao said in a phone interview that there is no update on whether it has already been caught.
“Kapag nahuli at na-turn over sa office, dadalhin ito sa DENR Regional Wildlife Rescue Center,” he added.
(Once caught and turned over to the office, it will be taken to the DENR Regional Wildlife Rescue Center.)