On Oct. 14, Civil Defence Force personnel at Tawau Airport in Sabah, Malaysia, were handling a report about a hornet's nest when another wildlife issue emerged: a spitting cobra was found near an office entrance during an emergency exercise called Ex Payau 2026.
Here's what to know
According to The Star, the hornet's nest call came in at about 12:30 p.m. A Civil Defence Force officer and another team member, accompanied by an airport security officer, inspected the airport area to evaluate the report and locate the nest. As they were heading back to the airport fire station, they were informed that a snake had been spotted inside an office.
They then redirected to the office and identified a small spitting cobra near the doorway.
Airport workers were told to stay back from the snake and not try to deal with it themselves because of the danger of injury.
More background
The encounter happened at an airport office rather than in a remote roadside area.
Runways, offices, security areas, and service roads can still intersect with the movement of animals that have long occupied the surrounding landscape.
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The cobra appeared within airport grounds, where workplaces sit close to nearby wildlife habitat.
An office entrance briefly became a hazard area, and a team that had arrived for one problem — a hornet's nest — had to pivot to another during the same operation.
What's being done?
Knowing the snake was a spitting cobra shaped the response that followed.
Staff were instructed not to touch the snake directly, and the removal process required the proper equipment and standard safety precautions.
Airport personnel moved the snake to a safer area away from the public.
Civil Defence Force Tawau was taking part in a partial emergency exercise at the airport, so responders were already on-site and coordinating with security when the snake was reported.
In a brief statement, the Civil Defence Force Tawau said, "The incident happened unexpectedly, but our personnel documented the sequence of events," per The Star.
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