A wildlife official was dangled into a pond by his team to rescue a cobra that had become stranded in the body of water.

A farmer in Kedgaon village near Ahmednagar in western India called Animal Rescue Society on November 2 to save a cobra that had fallen into his irrigation pond.

Though rescuer Akash Jadhav and his team went to the spot immediately, they realised it would be a tough rescue. The walls of the pond covered with tarpaulin were slippery. The snake was also very aggressive.

Akash went down into the pond and tried to catch the snake. The cobra resisted the rescue effort, threatening to strike him raising its hood, and swam away from him.

Though Akash was tethered to a rope, which was held by his team, there was a risk of him slipping into the pond to an unwanted close encounter with the snake.

After a few failed attempts, Akash removed his shoes to get a better grip on the pond slope, a risky move that exposed his bare feet to the snake.

But using a long pole he drew the snake close and then managed to catch it by its tail, He climbed up along with the cobra, which was later released in the wild.

Akash said: “It is important to rescue snakes when they fall into wells and ponds. They usually fail to climb up and perish after a few days.”

This was the heartstopping moment a brave rescuer took a huge personal risk to pull out an angry cobra from a pond.

A farmer in Kethadgaon village near Ahmednagar in western India called Animal Rescue Society on November 2 to save a cobra that had fallen into his irrigation pond.

Though rescuer Akash Jadhav and his team went to the spot immediately, they realised it would be a tough rescue. The walls of the pond covered with tarpaulin were slippery. The snake was also very aggressive.

Akash went down the pond and tried to catch the snake. The cobra resisted the rescue effort, threatening to strike him raising its hood, and swam away from him.

Though Akash was tethered to a rope, which was held by his team, there was a risk of him slipping into the pond to an unwanted close encounter with the snake.

After a few failed attempts, Akash removed his shoes to get a better grip on the pond slope, a risky move that exposed his bare feet to the snake bite.

But using a long pole he drew the snake close and then managed to catch it by its tail, He climbed up along with the cobra, which was later released in the wild.

Akash said: “It is important to rescue snakes when they fall into wells and ponds. They usually fail to climb up and perish after a few days.”