Snake of the Month

This time it was in our livingroom, under the Christmas tree. Jasper glimpsed it first, and Froot Loop our dog went after it. Jasper didn't see it clearly, and came running to tell me there was an animal under our Christmas tree. I grabbed a big pestle made of rock thinking it was probably a rat or something. I moved out furniture, first one hinged box, then the next, and I saw it...a long black snake. I told Jasper to get back and the dog started barking and chasing it. I kept hearing a very strange noise, like the cat hissing, except our cat wasn't around. The snake made its way out from under the tree area and went behind the couch, the dog in hot pursuit. I jumped on an ottoman and then decided I wanted to see what kind of snake it was. So I hopped on the couch and looked down at the snake and our dog. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. It was reared up, hooded, and striking at our dog. I jumped down, screamed for the kids to run upstairs, and called Ken. He came running with a hoe, but when I told him it was a cobra he immediately called our Thai friends and co-workers to come help us.
I called Froot Loop away from the snake over and over but he wouldn't listen to me. I went around the house and saw our dog lunge for the snake, grab it by the neck and start shaking it, but the snake got away and I saw it striking again. I was so scared. When the dog got near the door I grabbed it by the ear and pulled it to safety. Our Thai friends came, 4 men, and they killed the snake with a long wooden beam. We got a close look at it, they confirmed it was a cobra, a juvenile one, and then threw it over our wall. We were kind of bummed about that because we wanted to get a picture of it. We considered going out in the field with our tall rubber boots, but decided not to.
We looked it up...here's the info. It was a Monocellate Cobra, a "classic" cobra, not a King Cobra or a spitting cobra. Females lay up to 45 eggs. The bite is venomous and potentially fatal. As I was looking it up my hands were still shaking from the whole encounter.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Not the kind of Cobra I'm into (I like the kind with 4 wheels) Glad everyone is OK...did the pooch get bitten? Sounds kind of like the rattlesnakes we find over here from time to time, but much more poisonous.

R
26/11/07 5:31 AM
Oceanicthai said…
Amazingly enough, our dog didn't get bitten...it doesn't make sense, the snake struck at it several times, I thought for sure it was going to be a goner. The day after we were still a bit in shock over the experience, it is one thing to see it out in the wild, another under your Christmas tree, in your house! On a funny note, our Thai friends, after they killed it, said, "Too bad it's so small, it would've been tasty!"
!?!
27/11/07 7:41 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Airport-Closure Adventure

We knew that time was tight between the end of our conference in the Northern end of Thailand and our flight out of the country from the Southern end. We figured that since we would be flying there would be no problem getting home in a day and giving ourselves 2 full days before our flight to the U.S. We were scheduled to fly back to Southern Thailand on December 1st and get on our flight to the U.S. on December 4th. We flew to Chiang Mai with no inkling that the beautiful new airport we transferred at in Bangkok would be seiged by protesters just a few days later. At our conference we realized that we were not going to be flying back. The alternatives were train, bus, rent a car or rent a mini-van with a driver. Being economical we chose the train or bus, and in the end, due to scheduling, it had to be the bus. It would be a grueling 20+ hour trip home, but we weren't overly concerned because Thailand has beautiful VIP buses that are really nice to ride in. Unfortunately ther...
Read more

Red-Necked Keelback Snake

This is our "snake of the month," this time just a few steps from our kitchen door. I found it Monday afternoon, a strange pattern unlike the grass surrounding it. I yelled for the kids and our guest to go upstairs, handed them the dogs, and got my cell-phone and snake book. Kennedy, Trevor (Dean's intern) and a handyman all came to help, and the Thai handyman killed it. It was a very pretty snake, I'll upload a picture later. It is venomous, with rear-fangs. Most keelback snakes are not venomous, (we just got lucky?)
Read more