Watch: Indian Spectacled Cobra dies after mishandling incident in BKC

Man seen mishandling Indian spectacled cobra in BKC before its tragic death

A video of a person mishandling an Indian Spectacled Cobra at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) has gone viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism from wildlife experts and conservationists.

Pawan Sharma, who is the honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane and President of the NGO RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare), confirmed the incident.

"We received a distress call from BKC last night regarding a large snake spotted on the streets. Later, the man seen in the video was found mishandling the snake. Unfortunately, the snake was eventually recovered by a police official, who is also a snake enthusiast, but it was found dead," Sharma stated.

Sharma highlighted the dangers of untrained individuals attempting to handle wildlife. "This is a classic example of how people, in trying to take matters into their own hands, end up harming both the animal and themselves, while also putting others at risk," he added.

The Indian Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja) is listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which grants it the highest level of legal protection in India. Mishandling or harming such a protected species is a punishable offence under the Act.