An Indian man has killed a king cobra that has presumably killed the man's son. If it is true, I see nothing wrong with the father has done... Shocking footage: Man kills huge cobra with bare hands to avenge son?s death
This is one of those hard parts in conservation in many countries. In the UK particularly its very hard for people who grew up here to really consider the natural world as dangerous and life threatening. We have pretty much no native fauna which will hunt/kill you in a deliberate fashion. Our largest being deer which are more likely to flee than fight and the only dangerous wildlife I'd say worth considering are the wild-boar; which are very restricted in habitat and distribution, and similarly very elusive. As a result one forgets that in many countries; often with highly endangered animals, those endangered animals are not just a pest; but an active threat. How do we deal with the family who lost a child to a big-cat and wish to kill one or many of them in revenge whilst at the same time knowing that each individual lost to that species is a major blow to their population and viability (at least at a local if not global level). It's a major consideration and one that is very hard to deal with as humans are increasingly pushing into wild areas and pushing the boundaries of habitation, which results in increased human-animal interaction and conflict.
here's another video of the same killing, uploaded back in May: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Cqor84k0w
I think the action of the father is understandable at least, but killing an animal just for revenge is still wrong to me. Obviously, the poor man was not able to think clearly, because he could have ended up killed by the snake too.
I've read a couple of versions of the story and watched the video in a couple of places, and there is literally nothing to corroborate the story of "a father seeking revenge for his son being killed". Even the Indian newspapers say that it is not known where the video was made or who the man is or why he is killing the snake. Simply lines like "reports suggest..." or "it is thought that...." - in other words, the usual internet guesswork being turned into fact.
I personally don't like the idea of killing an animal for revenge. I understand if the animal is a man-eater however this cobra got stepped on by the mans son and bit him simply by instinct. The way he killed this snake, I'm completely repulsed by it. This isn't a killing for "avenge", this is simple barbarism.
Well, as the old saying states, "There's no smoke without fire" So it is very probable that something has happened unless it's the media sending out unfortunate falsehoods they spread today.
