Cobra sightings

Our society is in rather an unusual state as snakes are being seen nowadays even in the urban jungle. From pythons to cobras, it seems like Cebu is becoming a haven for sightings of these rare reptiles. Their sightings are not a pleasure to all. In fact, it incites fear and panic. Snakes can bite and some are venomous. Their venom can melt one's tissues until death or paralyze a certain part of one's body. For those that do not bite, they use their body to wrap around their prey until they die.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources already said that there is no cause for panic as these months until the end of April are considered their mating period. This means that they are out and about to find their partners in order to multiply. The cause for their resurgence is possibly due to overpopulation or that their natural habitat is being disturbed. Environmentalists are seeing a connection between climate change and their need to look for new places to hunt, causing a disturbance to humans.

Their records tell us that snakes, specifically king cobras, have already been in Cebu since the 1950s. They are more popular now because of the presence of social media. Technology has taught us to capture these sightings with our mobile phones and upload them for everyone to see. Mainstream media, as a watchdog, also report and interpret these sightings for the public to further understand what is actually going on. The response is varied, leaning towards being scared of the society that we are in. We are amongst dangerous reptiles, after all.

While we trust these experts, we should also not let our guard down. There is no specific control for these species but we can do our best to avoid their presence. They keep on reminding us to keep our surroundings clean, as these animals are drawn to moist and cold areas. We were also told to not panic as this can agitate the snake even more. It's best to let them be and immediately call disaster responders for appropriate action.

This might be a point of reflection for the way we are handling our environmental concerns. These sightings are a sign that the government should also take appropriate action regarding protected areas. The over-construction of structures should be reevaluated. We might be saturating their homes. Environmental policies should be reiterated and refreshed that will also benefit the ecosystem. At the end of the day, we share only one world.

The sight of snakes also makes me cringe. I cannot take their scary faces that seem to be always on an attacking state. It is difficult to imagine the feelings of those who actually saw it in the flesh. We just hope these sightings will come to an end. If we only take the correct steps and stop inciting panic in others, then there might be a new view on how snakes are understood in today’s time.