This is the unusual moment three venomous king cobras tangled themselves around a tree after being released into the wild in India.
Guide Nilesh Wankhede, 32, captured the footage as the snakes climbed a tree in Melghat Tiger Reserve in western Maharashtra state. Nilesh had rescued the snakes from three different places in Harisal village adjoining the reserve on Wednesday.
He said: I have rescued hundreds of snakes in the last 20 years but never seen such a sight…it was astonishing to see the three together. The video shows the three king cobras hissing and flaring out their iconic hoods, as they wrap themselves around a tree trunk as three men watch on.
Nilesh says the snakes climbed the tree after they were released into the jungle. It was a fascinating sight as they did not run to the grass or burrows. They were hanging on the tree for good 15 minutes.
He explained: I had rescued them from the village after they were spotted in a range of places, one was captured from the range office. The other was at a cow shed and the third one was hiding in a hut.
After rescuing them, along with a friend I took them to the jungle to release them in the wild. The moment I released them from the bag, the three quickly moved and climbed a tree.
