By Tim Binnall
A man in India may soon face criminal charges for allegedly painting a cobra snake white in order to pass the creature off as albino. The very strange case reportedly began last week when multiple media outlets in the country shared footage (seen above) of Ajay Kumar Das seemingly rescuing the rare reptile from a marsh in the town of Nayagarh. While the man was initially hailed as something of a hero for making the wondrous find, he has now been recast as a villain after prominent wildlife expert Subhendu Mallik caught something in the coverage which made him suspect that Das' tale was not on the level.
Observing that the snake seemed to be immobile when it was placed upon the ground, Mallik took a closer look at photos of the cobra and quickly determined that it was a hoax. The telltale sign, the expert said to another media outlet, is that the scale lines along the creature's underside should have been clearly visible, despite its alleged albinism. However, in this instance, the reptile's belly was entirely white, leading him to definitively declare that "paint was clearly applied on its body." He went on to indicate that this would explain why "the reptile could not move after being released in a field."
Noting that Das "chose national media to announce the albino cobra" rather than speak to any "local news channels," Mallik argued that the rescue was all a scheme aimed at achieving viral fame. Unfortunately for the snake, the wildlife expert lamented, it will now face a difficult if not short life in the wild as it is not only unable to move very well, but the white paint covering its body will make it easily visible to predators. Additionally, the applied enamel coating could prove fatal as it will cause the reptile's body temperature to rise. In light of what he has uncovered, Mallik has called upon police to arrest Das as the snake believed to be beneath the paint, a spectacled cobra, is a protected species in India.