Successful Hatching of Rescued Eggs of Two Naja Species from Assam, India

Human-snake negative interaction is common in rural Assam, particularly during the breeding season when cobras often deposit eggs inside houses or other structures. Such encounters frequently lead to destruction of eggs, posing a threat to local populations of ecologically important species. We report two cases of successful hatching from rescued cobra (Naja spp.) eggs in Assam. In the first case, thirteen eggs of a Monocled Cobra (Naja kaouthia) were recovered from beneath the mud floor of a residence in Lakhimpur district and incubated in a container lined with straw and hay. All hatched successfully after sixteen days. The second case is from Kokrajhar district, where eleven eggs of a Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja) were rescued from a school, and were incubated under controlled conditions (27–32 °C, 70–80% humidity), and eight of them hatched after fourteen days. Given the paucity of such documentation from the region, the present findings offer practical and replicable models for wildlife rescuers, forest departments, and conservation practitioners for the safe handling and management of rescued cobra eggs.

@article{hiranmoy2026,
  author  = {Hiranmoy Chetia* and Daoharu Baro},
  title   = {{Successful Hatching of Rescued Eggs of Two Naja Species from Assam, India}},
  journal = {Journal of Bioresearch},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {5},
  number  = {2},
  pages   = {64-68},
  doi     = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18605494},
}