iHerp Australia Issue 12 | Page 27

Our second call-out was for a smaller female measuring around three metres long. She had decided to take shelter in a wood pile. After carefully removing most of the wood, Ajay was again able to quickly bag the snake and collect all of the data he needed. The next call came later at night from a concerned family who last saw a King Cobra entering their roof space. After first searching the exterior of the building, we moved inside where the snake was duly located in the roof. Ajay bagged it, making the process look easy. ‘The team of trackers on the telemetry project would be some of the most dedicated people I have ever met.’ The next day we were fortunate to be able to join the team who are currently tracking M5 – a large male King Cobra – as part of the telemetry project being conducted by the ARRS. We tracked the snake through a small village where we could see him following the trail of an Indian Rat Snake that eventually became his dinner. This team of trackers would be some of the most dedicated people I have ever met. 3. 1. Juvenile Spectacle Cobra. This species is worshipped by the local people and causes far more deaths than the King Cobra. 2. A ‘small’ family photo after our first call-out. 3. Ajay Giri wrangles a large male King Cobra. 4. Ajay and Kumar release a rescued King Cobra. All images courtesy Adam Sapiano, unless otherwise noted. 4