Yellow cobra discovered in Mukundapur house

Kolkata, June 19 Wildlife experts remained divided over the exclusivity of a yellow cobra that was discovered on the eastern fringes of the city on Thurday. Locals, who found the reptile in the water tank of a building under construction in Mukundapur, handed it over to the state forest department.

The snake was about four feet in length and striped black with the typical cobra mark on its hood. Locals called in members of the Bedia Federation of India to pull it out of the tank.

"The snake belongs to the Najanaja keuthia species and is rare in India," said Raktim Das, a senior member of the federation.

Dipak Mitra, a renowned snake expert, however, claimed that yellow cobras are not quite rare. "I have a few yellow cobras in my snake park in Barasat. These are often found in the wild," Mitra claimed.

Officials at the state forest department are trying to find out more about the yellow snake.

It was shifted to its new home in the deer park in Salt Lake later in the day.