Watch: Cobra Swallows Cough Syrup Bottle In Bhubaneswar, Internet Salutes Rescue Team

Members of the Snake Helpline in Bhubaneswar, Odisha are garnering praise for saving a helpless cobra. As per a video circulating online, the snake had mistakenly swallowed a bottle of cough syrup, believing it to be another creature, which left it struggling to breathe. A video of the dramatic scene, shared on X by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda, shows the bottle stuck inside the snake’s mouth. The snake’s situation was terrible until locals decided to inform the experts. The rescue team arrived immediately and carefully dislodged the bottle from the snake’s throat.

Despite the risks involved, their efforts paid off as they managed to safely push the bottle out and turned a tragic situation into a successful rescue. Sharing the footage on social media, Nanda wrote, “A Common cobra swallowed a cough syrup bottle in Bhubaneswar & was struggling to regurgitate it. Volunteers from snake helpline gently widened the lower jaw to free the rim of the base of the bottle with great risk & saved a precious life. Kudos.” Since the video was shared online, it has gone viral and garnered over 84,000 views.

Reacting to the video, a user joked, “Did not like the taste of the cough syrup obviously.”

Another appreciative rescuer wrote, “That’s very well accomplished with care and patience.”

“This is why strict rules for not littering should be made,” a comment read.

Another wondered, “Why is that person touching Cobra without hand gloves?”

An individual shared, “How many times must something like this happen before people take responsibility for disposing their waste properly & safely.”

One more added, “Plastic has reached every corner of the earth.”

Speaking with The Times of India, Susanta Nanda said, “The bottle was big and it got stuck in the jaw (just a few centimetres in the mouth). Had it been a soft object of similar size, it could have well slipped into the cobra’s stomach.”

Meanwhile, snake expert and wildlife enthusiast, Suvendu Mallick who rescued the serpent explained, “I gently manipulated the fang and the jaw while maintaining caution to avoid being bitten. I just helped the reptile to regurgitate the bottle and it did so. It was released outside the city in its natural habitat. The snake got attracted to the smell and swallowed the bottle.”

According to Mallick, the cobra was dehydrated because the bottle had been stuck in its mouth for almost a week.