4385. WILDLIFE SINGAPORE. Black cobra stories

 STORY 1. Yio Chu Kang Crescent secondary forest. From 2018 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 eEagle 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!"