3600. *****Singapore Wildlife Stories. A black cobra was seen in Yio Chu Kang Crescent secondary forest on 28 May 2021. Video

 Video footage shown to me by the migrant worker who was kind enough to warn me to be careful.

"Sir, sir," the Indian migrant worker came out from his lorry at Yio Chu Kang Crescent, approached me. "You have to be careful. There are black cobra in the forest you are taking photos,"

He showed me his phone video as evidence. 

Over 100 visits to this place and I had not encountered one. I did see on two occasions, a slim glossy black snake the size of a skipping rope slithering away into the forest when I walked past. I did get some photos. Will need to take them out. Two kind souls warned me from across the storm water canal when they saw me inside this strip of grass besides the forest. Really concerned.  

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4095. A black cobra in Yio Chu Kang Crescent forest video

 A migrant worker from India came out of his truck along Yio Chu Kang Crescent forest path and said to me, "Sir, be careful of black cobras in this area. I saw one earlier. My colleagues were doing the "Indian Snake Charmer" dance and music when they saw the cobra near me. I was not aware of it and thought they were making fun of me."

They pointed to it. I took a video. This was his video. "In India, in my village, I saw many an used to catch one by the tail and swung it! Till it became unconscious!". I was grateful for his warning about black cobras. I saw one slithering away from me some months ago but near saw one in full size.

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STORY 1. Yio Chu Kang Crescent secondary forest. From 2017 to Apr 2023, I used to walk around the fringe of the forest to take photos of the wildlife. There were butterflies, birds, water crested hens and possibly wild boars. I nearly stepped on a black snake which quickly slithered into the forest.

On at least 3 occasions, a passer-by on the main road would warn me to be careful as they had spotted black cobras on the fringe forest path.

One South Asian migrant worker who drove the company truck approached me to warn me. He showed me a video of the cobra he had seen in this forest fringe. "One day, I was around this area," he said. "I did not see the black cobra around my legs.

"My colleague started to behave like a snake charmer. You know, the type who blows a pipe and the cobra would come out of his box! My colleague opened his mouth to say "Ah, ah, ah...". Then he pointed at the cobra beside my right leg! My colleague was warning me to be careful not to step on it!"

He looked serious as he took out his smartphone to flick for the video. There was the black cobra  slithering away from him.

"You must have encountered many black cobras in your village in India," I said. "Did you catch them?"

"I gripped the cobra by the head," the Bangladeshi migrant worker said to me. "I would swing him around 3 times. He would become giddy. I would step on it to kill it."

"I was young then," he said. "No more foolish behaviour now that I am married."

STORY 2.

I was in this Yio Chu Kang Crescent forest on morning and met Keith Hutton, a photographer. "I was photographing an eagle up a tree. The eagle stayed still looking at me. Great shot. Eye contact!

Later, I realised that there was a cobra beside me. I inched away slowly and was not attacked!"

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The black-necked spitting cobra is a venomous snake. It spits potent venom with a range of over 7 metres. Often found in savanna and grassland habitats.

Observe them from a safe distance and avoid provoking them.