PUNE, Aug 7: An Albino cobra, a rare breed among the slithery species is the precious inmate and hub of attention in the Katraj Snake Park in Pune.

The cobra is the only one of its kind in an Indian zoo. Snake park director and well-known herpetologist Neelimkumar Khaire said that the rare reptile will be the highlight for Punekars on Naagpanchami day,. The rare snake with colour anomalies - melanophores mutation as it is called in herpetologists' jargon - originates in the semi-arid eastern Phaltan taluka of neighbouring Satara district, Khaire informed. The snake park director informed that the gender of his 37 centimetre long `prize baby' could not be determined yet and they are awaiting a special sex probe kit from USA.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.