A critically injured king cobra was saved by vets in Thailand.

The 16ft leviathan was wounded in a fight with a dog before it was found by soldiers with its internal organs spilling out from its ruptured skin on February 14.

Lieutenant Pornpitak Chimkhonburi and Sergeant Major First Class Tharet Sampaosong of the Sichon Special Combat Training Camp spotted the weak reptile hanging from a tree.

They carefully carried it to safety and rushed it to the Sichon Animal Hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, around 500 miles south of Bangkok.

Veterinarian Piyaporn Wattanapan said the male snake had severe lacerations on its abdomen and near the cloaca. It was treated for free because it is a protected species.

The vet administered anaesthesia and removed the female cobra's reproductive organs as they were too severely damaged. The soldiers helped by pinning the reptile onto the operating table during surgery.

Dr Wattanapan said: 'The removal of the snake's reproductive organs was needed to save its life.

'If we had tried to salvage them, the injury would have festered and led to its death within a few days.'

The snake came through the operation and is recovering with bandages on its wounds. The snake was put into a large crate and is now being monitored at the army base.

Lieutenant Pornpitak said it will be released back into the wild in several weeks.

He added: 'The rescue team saved this king cobra after it was bitten by a dog and sought refuge in a mangosteen tree.

'It was then handed over to special combat soldiers who are experts in treating snakes.

'However, the wound was too severe, so we took it to Sichon Animal Hospital where it received free treatment because it is considered protected wildlife. The hospital didn't want to burden us with the cost.'

Cobras are one of the world's deadliest snakes.

Researchers found that 7,000 people are treated for snake bites each year in Thailand. Suchai Suteparuk from the Division of Toxicology at Chulalongkorn University reported that 30 of those die, with cobras being the biggest killer.