Overview

• Named Nagarjun, the five-year-old male king cobra was found dead in its enclosure late Wednesday, triggering an investigation.
• The snake arrived on April 6 from Karnataka’s Pilikula Biological Park under an exchange deal that sent two tigers to Madhya Pradesh.
• Its enclosure featured a humidifier, temperature controls and CCTV monitoring, and it was observed behaving normally until Tuesday evening.
• Veterinarians from Van Vihar and the originating facility will perform a detailed autopsy to determine the cause of death.
• Experts have raised concerns over the decision to import two male cobras and urged scrutiny of Central Zoo Authority guidelines and care standards.