Young Cobras, pythons find home in Western Ghats

[email protected] (CD Network)
July 3, 2013
Snake
Malpe, Jul 3: Western Ghats has embraced some young ones in its arms. They are none other than 24 young ones of cobras, which were hatched naturally and 32 little pythons born through artificial methods of hatching.

Vasanth Mendon from Malpe had called herpetologist Gururaj Sanil to inspect an anthill that had come up near his house. Gururaj found that there were several young ones of Cobras living inside the anthill. Fearing that the young ones will be hurt if they break the anthill, Gururaj resorted to filling the anthill with water. In this technique, as many as 24 young cobras floated out. Since there were 24 hatched egg shells inside the anthill, it means that all the young ones had come out safe.

Gururaj says that the lifespan of a Cobra is about 25 years and an adult Cobra lays about 8 to 15 eggs. The number of eggs increases with age. The adult Cobras lay eggs during March and April and the eggs are hatched during May, June-July. The young ones are usually 10 inch long, of which male ones grow upto 7 feet and females grow up to 5 feet.

Python

In another instance, Sundari Acharya from Nayampalli of Udupi had called Gururaj on May 17 informing that a constrictor had laid eggs in the cowshed. Even when Gururaj informed the family members that the young ones will go all by themselves once the eggs are hatched, petrified family did not agree. With this, Gururaj had to get the eggs out of the cowshed and take it to a safe place.

Pythons are the only constrictors which hatch their eggs. However, if there is a change in place then the pythons refuse to hatch the eggs. Hence Gururaj had to make arrangements to hatch the eggs using artificial techniques.

The young ones of pythons stay together in a pack and once the first layer of skin is shed, they part ways. These hatchlings can stay alive for about a month even if they do not find any food, says Gururaj.

Normally pythons lay about 15 to 30 eggs. The adult pythons prefer warm places to lay eggs and hence if they venture towards human settlements then they usually head to the sheds to lay eggs. They lay eggs around March, April while the young ones are out by July. While the young ones are out, the mother leaves to hunt for food.

It is said that no matter how many eggs are hatched only four to five of the young ones of the Cobras and pythons survive. The young ones often become food to mongoose, peacocks, fox and other wild animals, which feed on them.

The young ones have been released to Western ghats.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Udupi, Dec 15: What was meant to be a post-pilgrimage gathering turned tragic in Padukere village of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi district, late Sunday night, when a clash among youths escalated into a fatal assault, leaving one man dead.

The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Santosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere.

According to preliminary information, the incident took place during a late-night drinking party involving a group of local youths who had recently returned after completing their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine. An argument reportedly broke out among the group and soon escalated into a violent confrontation.

During the ensuing brawl, Santosh Mogaveera was allegedly assaulted and collapsed at the spot after sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed by local residents to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him dead.

On receiving information, senior police officials, including Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Police Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T, Station ASI Manthesh Jabagoudar, and head constables Pradeep and Ashok, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.

Police have taken four youths into custody in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the Kota police station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the death.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 2,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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