Cobra Attacks Snake Catcher On The Face During Rescue [Video]

A deadly cobra almost bit a snake catcher on his face as he tried to rescue the reptile from a car’s engine.

A 12-minute video posted on YouTube on Friday showed the huge snake hiding in the engine of a car that is parked on the side of a busy road, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. As the snake catcher removes the reptile using a snake tong, it attempts to strike him in the face. The unfazed snake catcher, however, manages to calmly place the snake in a bag using his bare hand.

In the video, the snake catcher can be heard telling bystanders that cobras are highly venomous but don’t bite unless harmed or provoked. He urges people not to kill snakes and instead informs local authorities or snake rescuers who can rescue them and release them safely into the wild. The clip ends with the snake catcher releasing the snake.

"Hey, this was an ordinary day of my life which is full of (a) dramatic rescue. I hope you all like it. The animals are released back in the wild," the YouTube video was captioned.

The clip has since gone viral with over 85,000 views. Several people took to the comments section to praise the snake catcher for his "good work," while some asked him to be more careful while rescuing snakes.

"Please wear a helmet while rescuing snakes or other dangerous animals. Please don’t take risk," one person wrote.

"Catch snakes carefully they can still bite from inside the bag that you were holding with bare hands," another person commented.

Cobras are one of the four highly venomous snake species found in India and are responsible for most snakebite deaths in the country. The five species of cobras found in India are Spectacled cobra, Monocled cobra, Caspian cobra, Andaman cobra and King cobra.

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister died after being bitten by a deadly snake at their home in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The snake, which was found slithering in the bedroom, was rescued by the snake catchers.