A 36-hour rescue unfolded in Noida, India, after a family discovered that what appeared to be a problem in a ceiling vent was actually a black cobra moving through the false ceiling, as The Indian Express reported.
The publication revealed that until the snake was caught and later released on Wednesday evening, the family spent most of that time sheltering on the house's upper floor.
What happened?
At the family's two-story home in Noida's Sector 51, a long shape spotted inside a light vent first drew attention, The Indian Express recalled. They soon understood that the object shifting inside the vent had to be a snake.
P K Srivastava, divisional forest officer for Gautam Budh Nagar, told The Indian Express that a rescue team first responded on Tuesday but was unable to locate the reptile.
"We then made another attempt on Wednesday evening and caught the reptile," Srivastava declared to the outlet.
Sanjeev Kumar, general secretary of the Sector 51 Residents Welfare Association, told The Express the snake was around five feet long.
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"Initially, the family thought it was a wiring issue — until they saw it move," he added to the publication.
For safety, the elderly couple, two children, and two domestic helpers stayed on the second floor while neighbors and forest officials worked on a response, per The Express. The outlet revealed that a traditional snake charmer brought in by the residents' welfare association also could not immediately find the cobra.
Why does it matter?
Srivastava emphasized the danger posed by cobras, warning The Indian Express that "a bite can be fatal within 40 minutes if untreated."
Authorities relayed to the publication that recent heavy rains may have led the cobra into the house through a ceiling panel, while Kumar said nearby vacant plots "have become breeding grounds for snakes."
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In this case, the family's kitchen was downstairs, and important medication was temporarily out of reach while they waited for help, The Express noted.
As humans continually encroach on wildlife habitats, these chance encounters are increasing. They can especially occur in areas with different stages of development and habitats, or when extreme weather drives them indoors, as was the case in this story.
What's being done?
Rather than ripping apart the house, The Indian Express reported that forest staff waited for the snake to show itself. Vidyasagar Pandey, a junior forest staffer tracking the reptile, told the outlet that the team put powder into the ceiling shaft and then waited for movement.
"We asked the family to alert us the moment they spotted movement," Pandey told The Express. "When they called, we rushed back and found the snake near the kitchen chimney."
At around 6:30 p.m., the cobra was caught and then released at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, per the publication.
Residents are also calling for preventive measures. Kumar revealed to The Express that local officials have repeatedly been notified about vacant plots in the area, which he described as recurring snake hotspots.
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