Keri: Wildlifer Pradip Gawandalkar from Valpoi has successfully caught and rescued 89 king cobras in the last 12 years.Gawandalkar, a tailor from Massorde inValpoi , has been active in wildlife rescues for 30 years. He learned snake-rescue skills from Amrut Singh, the president of the animal eescue squad in Bicholim.“I first caught a king cobra in Charavane, a village in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Sattari. While rescuing snakes in 2012, I got a call from villagers about a venomous snake. With a lot of effort, I caught the snake and released it in its natural habitat. I got the opportunity to rescue four king cobras with a length of at least 16 feet,” Gawandalkar told TOI.He said that he rescued four king cobras this year, the first from Savarshe, a forested village in Sattari. He also said that king cobras are usually found in the evergreen forest, but with the onset of summer, they move into cashew plantations.Ramesh Zarmekar, a wildlifer from Sattari, said that king cobras are found in cashew plantations.After extracting juice from the cashew apple, the discarded ones are eaten by rodents. Rat snakes eat rodents, and they, in turn, are eaten by the king cobras.
