Cobra recovered below a bookshelf in Tayabas City school

This photo from the Tayabas City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) shows the Philippine Cobra curled up underneath a bookshelf in a classroom of Dapdap Integrated School, Tayabas City in Quezon province, on Tuesday, April 3, 2024. From the Facebook page of Tayabas City-Cenro

MANILA, Philippines — Teachers and students of a school in Tayabas City in Quezon province were on their toes after a venomous Philippine Cobra slithered its way into one of the classrooms on Tuesday.

In a post on Facebook on Wednesday evening, Tayabas City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) said that at 4 p.m. on April 2, they received a call from a concerned citizen about the snake in a classroom of Dapdap Integrated School.

READ: Cobras in the Philippines: What you should know about them

Based on photos of the incident, the snake was found coiled under a bookshelf in the classroom.

Tayabas Cenro responded to the scene and promptly rescued the reptile, which it identified as the poisonous Philippine Cobra or Naja philippinensis.

“We are reminding the public that the hunting, collection, and possession of any kind of wildlife is punishable under Republic Act No. 9147 or Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001,” Tabayas Cenro said on Facebook.

READ: King Cobra captured in Tabogon, Cebu

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Philippine Cobra is a “near threatened” species “found in a wide range of habitats, from primary tropical moist forest to agricultural and urban areas.”

Being listed as near threatened means a species’ population may soon be vulnerable to endangerment.