CREW GOWRI_SHANKER MBALI ONLOOKERS ONLOOKER_ONE ONLOOKER_THREE ONLOOKER_TWO RESIDENT SIMON SIOUXSIE SIOUXSIE_GILLETT SNAKE_SHYAM SOUXSIE GOWRI SHANKER Simon, ready? SIMON Yes, ready. As ready as I�ll ever be. GOWRI SHANKER He�s growling. SIMON Okay, I can hear him, still can�t see him. GOWRI SHANKER He�s quite happy there. He doesn�t want to come out. SIOUXSIE Oh, there we go, there we go, there we go, I saw something. SIMON Oh, I�ve got a bit of tail. SIOUXSIE It�s a loop. GOWRI SHANKER Got him? SIMON I�ve got a loop. I can try and pull him out. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, try pulling him out. SIMON I think I�m ready for this moment in my life, to catch a king cobra on my own. GOWRI SHANKER Okay, wait, wait, wait. Let him, let him go. SIMON Don�t know which end I�ve got here. Tail, I hope. SIOUXSIE Tail, tail, tail. SIMON Okay, I�ve got a tail. GOWRI SHANKER Got him? SIOUXSIE Ooh, it�s big. SIMON Gently, gently. That�s a big snake. Move back, move back. SIOUXSIE Okay, bring out, bring out, bring out. SIMON Ooh, you�re a big boy. SIMON I�m thinking to myself, don�t get bitten, don�t die. There�s no antivenom, so don�t screw this up. SIMON Welcome to Mysore, India. Snake City! I�m Simon Keys. This is Siouxsie Gillett. And this is Mbali Mtshali. SIMON Move back, move back. SIOUXSIE Bring it out. Bring it out. SIMON We�re professional snake catchers, and we�re now faced with our biggest challenge yet: a global snake crisis. Snake-and-people encounters are escalating. SIMON Oh. SIMON And we have to protect both. It�s getting hotter, wetter and crazier, and the call-outs just keep coming. SIMON We�re at the tail end of our India adventure, and we�ve rescued some awesome snakes, including three of the species responsible for the most snakebite deaths in India, the spectacled cobra, the Russell�s viper and the common krait. We also found our holy grail, the iconic king cobra. Since our visit last year, the human population in the city of Mysore has grown over 2%, which means more overlap between humans and snakes and more call-outs around the clock. For Snake Shyam, it�s been his busiest season ever. SNAKE SHYAM It�s here! SNAKE SHYAM Take that, take that. SIMON Oh, nice one. SNAKE SHYAM And it�s a non-venomous snake. SIOUXSIE And he loves your hat as well. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON He likes your hat. SNAKE SHYAM And it likes, likes my hat. SIMON One of our biggest highlights this time has been joining Gowri Shankar, the king cobra guru in these parts, rescuing the largest venomous snakes on the planet. King cobras need plenty of natural habitat to thrive, but with so much deforestation, they�re running into humans more and more. This call-out could be our worst nightmare, a massive snake at a school. It�s late afternoon, and we�re losing light. SIMON It�s a king cobra, apparently, and it�s gone up into this tree here. SIMON This is not going to be easy. We�ve never caught a king in a tree before. SIOUXSIE We know how much Simon loves trees, so. SIMON Can�t even climb that one. It�s so thin. SIMON This is the biggest cobra we�ve ever faced. In Durban, we spend ages looking for the snake, but this one�s hard to miss. It�s thicker than the branch it�s on. SIOUXSIE Do you think something scared him and he�s gone up there? GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIOUXSIE He�s not gone up there to sleep for the night, has he? GOWRI SHANKER Mostly, it�ll be dogs, you know, barking at them, like this, dogs. SIOUXSIE And we�ve got a dog here, yeah. SIMON Yeah, yes, dog. How big do you think it is, Gowri? GOWRI SHANKER I�d say about 3.5 metres (11.5 ft). SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER A big male. SIMON He�s very alert, that�s for sure. Now it�s going that way. SIOUXSIE So what do you normally do? Would you wait to see if it comes down? Would you climb up? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. We can wait. It will come down. SIMON Gowri seems confident the snake will come to us. It�s our first time in this situation. At home, it�s never that simple. SIMON Well, good thing is we can clearly see the snake right up there. And we don�t want him going into the other tree. SIOUXSIE Thankfully, the school is closed. However, we need to get that snake removed. We don�t want it there in the morning when the school opens. SIMON King cobras are diurnal and will usually find a safe burrow to curl up in for the night. But when threatened, they may also take to the trees to get some shuteye. Well, they actually sleep with their eyes open, as they don�t have eyelids. But these huge snakes are just as happy in the trees as on the ground. SIMON Yeah, come this side. GOWRI SHANKER Prashanth, [Non-English]. SIMON Yeah. Oh, see, he�s going up there. That�s what we didn�t want him to do, because now he�s going into this big tree. That�s going to be a problem. SIOUXSIE Oh, what�s he doing? Gowri, we do have a ladder. SIMON I was just about to take my shoes off and climb the tree, but then someone beat me to it. Damn. SIOUXSIE Oh, look at this man climbing. Wow. SIMON I know. SIOUXSIE Simon, learn from this man. He makes it look so easy. SIMON It�s an Indian ladder. SIMON I think I�m a bit too old for shimmying up that pole. He just went straight up, like Spiderman. SIMON He�s going to try and scare it to go back that way. SIMON This is actually insane! He could get killed by the fall, the cobra, or both! GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE Pretty crazy. Can you imagine, in South Africa, asking a bystander to climb the tree and scare the black mamba to the opposite direction? I don�t think we�ll have many volunteers. SIMON It�s amazing how people react to snakes in India compared to South Africa. Here�s a bystander risking his life for a king cobra. SIOUXSIE Look at him! SIMON He�s not scared of heights, that�s for sure. SIOUXSIE No. So what they�re trying to achieve here, he�s gone up the tree in a bid to hopefully scare the snake in the opposite direction, to go lower down. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE So this man trusts you? GOWRI SHANKER He trusts me, when I was trying to, yeah. SIOUXSIE When you�re saying, don�t worry, don�t worry? Ooh, something sounded cracking. Ooh. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIMON Pass him the stick now, yeah. SIOUXSIE And this man�s happy to do this. I love this. GOWRI SHANKER He is happy to do it, yeah. People have a very good relationship with the snakes, you know. SIOUXSIE No, it�s amazing, I love it. GOWRI SHANKER That�s, that�s very important. SIOUXSIE I think it�s amazing. GOWRI SHANKER They�re very cooperative. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE Brilliant. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIMON Snake�s on the move. It wants to get away. We�ve got a guy poking it with a stick. What can possibly go wrong? ONLOOKERS [Non-English]. SIMON When a king cobra comes at you hissing and showing his hood, it means business. I admire this guy for having a go, but now it�s time to back down. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE Splinters on the toes. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. Yeah, that�s good, isn�t it? GOWRI SHANKER We can�t do that. SIMON No! GOWRI SHANKER Can you? SIOUXSIE No! He�s, he�s incredible. SIMON No, I wouldn�t go do that. GOWRI SHANKER This is the best opportunity you can have. SIMON I know, yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Simon, go up! SIMON Tree climbing. GOWRI SHANKER You can go climbing. SIMON Yeah, lesson one. SIMON Jokes aside, the clock�s ticking, we�re losing light, and now the snake�s fired up. SIOUXSIE Gowri�s going to have a go at persuading it to come down, but he�s directly beneath it. Whenever the snake has the higher ground, it�s more dangerous. SIMON Watch it don�t fall on your head. SIOUXSIE This snake has enough venom to kill an elephant, so more than enough to kill all of us here. But Gowri�s keeping his cool. GOWRI SHANKER It�s like a free highway for them, you know. They�re so comfortable on the tree. SIOUXSIE Oh yeah. This snake is going to be really worried now. Everyone�s been poking it, there�s a huge crowd, and it is super alert. SIOUXSIE If it falls and we can�t contain it, any one of us could get a deadly bite. SIMON Gowri gives one last nudge with the pole. SIMON Which side is he going? SIMON And suddenly, it�s action stations! SIMON Yeah, I�ll go the other side of the fence in case he goes that way. And then, Sioux, you�re that side. SIOUXSIE Mm-hm. SIMON The cobra is moving fast now. SIMON Where is he? Got it, Gowri? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, got him. SIMON I can nudge his tail. There you are, it�s coming through, coming through. Okay? SIMON We can�t let it go back up the tree. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, okay. Touch its tail, touch its tail. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Gently. SIMON Gently. Okay, come on. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. SIMON Big snake. There we are. GOWRI SHANKER Get the tail. SIMON Okay. GOWRI SHANKER Touch its head now. SIMON Yeah, you ready? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIOUXSIE Ooh, barbed wire, watch the barbed wire. SIMON Gowri, watch, he�s wedged himself. GOWRI SHANKER Just touch him, touch him. Yeah. SIMON Okay, he�s coming. GOWRI SHANKER That�s good. SIMON He�s coming through, there you are. Watch the barbed wire. GOWRI SHANKER Lift him, lift. SIOUXSIE Ooh, barbed wire. SIMON Let�s pick him up. Oh, there we go. Hold on. You okay? Right, there you go. GOWRI SHANKER Thank you. That was good. SIMON That is a big snake. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, he�s big. SIMON Wow. There we are. Gave us the runaround. GOWRI SHANKER Ooh, that�s a huge one. Look at this. SIMON That�s a big snake! SIOUXSIE That�s a big one. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIMON Thick, hey? SIMON This is when you realise how thick and heavy these snakes really are. SIOUXSIE Amazing. SIMON Thick, thick, thick. GOWRI SHANKER That�s huge. SIMON Quite dark as well, this one. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON Yeah, it�s beautiful. GOWRI SHANKER What do you think the size of it would be? SIOUXSIE Shame, where�s the dog? SIMON Geez, it�s got to be three, it�s probably about 3.5 metres (11.5 ft), isn�t it? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah? 3-3.5 metres (10-11.5 ft)? SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE That�s gorgeous. SIMON He was happy up there. SIOUXSIE So would he have slept in the tree at night? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, maybe if, uh, people didn�t spot him and, SIMON Settled down. GOWRI SHANKER He would have slept there for the night. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Really? GOWRI SHANKER But this is, look at this. It�s a whole village. SIOUXSIE Oh, no, no, no. SIMON Here he comes. SIOUXSIE Look at that! Gorgeous! SIMON Stare you straight in the face. They�re not scared. SIOUXSIE Shame. SIMON They�re intelligent. GOWRI SHANKER They�re intelligent, yeah. SIOUXSIE Look at that. SIMON Look at that. SIMON King cobras are definitely different to any other snake I�ve dealt with before. They kind of stare you in the face. They�ve got these deep brown, gorgeous eyes, but kind of look at you in a way that, why are you interfering with me? I�m a nice, big snake. I can�t explain it. It�s a, it�s a, it�s like kind of a mesmerisation. I don't know. SIOUXSIE They�re so impressive and their, their hiss, that noise. GOWRI SHANKER They, that, they don�t hiss. SIMON Growl. GOWRI SHANKER They growl. SIOUXSIE No, it�s growl. SIMON Growl. It�s actually growling. SIOUXSIE Yeah, it�s actually growling, it�s not even a, GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIMON Just warning you, yeah. SIOUXSIE And their eyesight, it�s super focused. SIMON It�s amazing to see this snake. Now we�ve got hold of it, got it finally out the tree, we can actually check the real size of this snake and the girth on it. It�s huge. It�s about 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) long, a gorgeous male. You can just appreciate how tricky they can be to handle sometimes just because of their sheer size and strength. GOWRI SHANKER You want to feel the strength? SIMON Yeah, let�s have a go. Thanks. Okay, wow, he�s a heavy snake. GOWRI SHANKER He�s heavy. SIMON This is the first time I�m tailing a wild king cobra. SIMON Strong! GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, very strong. SIMON All muscle. It�s basically like a python on steroids. Ooh, here he comes. SIMON A python on steroids with a lot of venom. SIMON Hey, hello, you�ve got my tail. GOWRI SHANKER Siouxsie? SIMON Just grab hold of it. GOWRI SHANKER Feel it. SIOUXSIE Wow. GOWRI SHANKER It�s so strong. SIMON Grab it higher up. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, higher up. SIMON That�s it, that�s it. SIOUXSIE Wow. SIMON Watch him. SIOUXSIE God, that�s strong! GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, he is strong. SIMON I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. SIOUXSIE Strong, strong, strong. SIMON It�s a lot of snake to manoeuvre around. Right. Yeah, I will now. GOWRI SHANKER Good? SIMON Okay, right. SIOUXSIE Ooh, straight to the bag. Straight to the bag. GOWRI SHANKER People, yeah, hold it like that. Hold it like that. Let him go. Let him go. SIMON In you go. GOWRI SHANKER Good, good, good. Let him go. SIMON He�s going to go. SIOUXSIE Come on, you. GOWRI SHANKER Let him go. SIMON In you go, in you go. GOWRI SHANKER Let him go. SIMON And, SIOUXSIE Oh, watch your leg! SIMON All right. Oh, that�s a, GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, turn it around, turn it around. SIMON That�s a heavy snake! GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIMON This is the biggest one so far. SIOUXSIE This rescue was really inspiring. It didn�t take us long to get that big snake out the tree. Normally, in South Africa, it can take us hours to capture the snake. And having that bystander really helped. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. SIMON Yeah, awesome. SIOUXSIE Well done, you. SIMON Yeah, well done. Okay, should we go? GOWRI SHANKER Well done. SIOUXSIE Brilliant. That was amazing. No, brilliant. SIMON Awesome. Well done. SIOUXSIE Well done. Well done to this guy. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, that�s good. SIOUXSIE Thank you. Well done. SIMON Okay. Thanks, hey. Well done. Cheers, hey. Well, that was fun. SIOUXSIE Now I know why you lift weights, Gowri. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Oh. SIMON Yeah, put that in there. SIOUXSIE There we go. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. So how much do you think it weighs, he weighs? SIMON I�m going to go 8.2 kilos (18 lbs). GOWRI SHANKER Yeah? 8.2 kilos (18 lbs), that�s perfect. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Ah, well, what are you going to say? I�ll have a go in between. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER I would say, like, seven (15.4 lbs). SIMON You reckon? SIOUXSIE Oh, you�re lower. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, Simon�s eight. SIMON Going a bit lower, okay. SIOUXSIE So, 7.5 (16.5 lbs). SIMON Okay, all right. Let�s just see what it is. GOWRI SHANKER Okay, let�s check. Okay, ready? SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Go on, let�s see. No cheating now. GOWRI SHANKER I�m not cheating. SIOUXSIE Let�s make sure we can all see. SIMON Ooh, eight! SIOUXSIE Eight? SIMON Eight. Bang on eight. SIOUXSIE Oh, my goodness. GOWRI SHANKER [Non-English]. ONLOOKER: [Non-English]. GOWRI SHANKER Good. SIOUXSIE So, what? GOWRI SHANKER You see, they just want to, the snake to be released within their village. SIMON Oh, great! SIOUXSIE Aw! GOWRI SHANKER Don�t take it anywhere. SIMON The locals actually say to us, please don�t take it far, we want it around. We just didn�t want it near the school. So we�re going to drive up the road and put it straight back in the bush, where it belongs. SIOUXSIE In India, king cobras are worshipped as gods. So having one in your neighbourhood is considered a huge privilege and a good omen. SIOUXSIE There you go. GOWRI SHANKER There he goes. SIMON There we go. SIOUXSIE Oh, there are plenty of trees here for you. SIMON They�re impressive, hey? SIOUXSIE Ah, look at that. Beautiful. How beautiful is that? SIMON Back in the jungle. SIOUXSIE Such a lovely feeling, isn�t it? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIOUXSIE Oh, brilliant. GOWRI SHANKER It�s a nice feeling. SIOUXSIE Yay. SIMON It�s impressive, that�s for sure. GOWRI SHANKER Let�s go. SIMON All right, thanks. SIOUXSIE Lovely. All done? Wonderful. SIMON People�s attitudes towards snakes here, compared to South Africa, are literally oceans apart. In India, they feel privileged to have them in their neighbourhood. Back in Durban, they feel very unlucky. Mbali is home alone, and she�s just received a call for a suspected black mamba in a courthouse! MBALI Okay, so I�ve been called for a snake. Apparently, they�ve been spotting it for a couple of days. MBALI Sanbonani. ONLOOKER ONE Ngiyaphila. MBALI [Non-English]. ONLOOKER TWO [Non-English]. MBALI [Non-English]. ONLOOKER ONE Yebo. MBALI [Non-English]. ONLOOKER ONE [Non-English]. MBALI Okay, cool. MBALI One of the ladies managed to get a video for us, to show us where the snake was hiding. MBALI It�s not great footage, but I�m pretty sure it�s a black mamba. Now to make matters worse, I�m picking up a strong smell of disinfectant. MBALI Did you guys maybe put any chemicals? MBALI [Non-English]. ONLOOKERS [Non-English]. MBALI It�s a whole myth in Africa that disinfectants can actually get rid of snakes, which is not true. MBALI But what it can do is kill them. We�ve got to get the snake out now. If the chemicals don�t kill it, the heat will. It is midday and over 35 degrees (95�F). This snake is relying on me. MBALI Okay. MBALI Oh, and one more thing: I�ve never caught a black mamba on my own before. I have to focus. MBALI Si and Sioux have learnt a lot of tricks of how to catch snakes whilst in India, and one of them was how to flush snakes out. Now it�s time for me to try one of their new tricks, but here in Africa. MBALI This is the highest one. Maybe if we can actually bring, like, a bucket or a hosepipe so that we can flush water through here, hopefully it will encourage for the snake to move through to the central, ONLOOKER THREE Go that side, yeah. MBALI Drain, yeah. ONLOOKER THREE Yes, yes, yes. MBALI Snakes are experts at holding their breath, so we�re not putting it in any more danger than it already is. MBALI Unlike humans, they only have one fully developed lung, which stretches down nearly the whole length of their bodies. At the end, the lung functions more like an air sac which stores extra oxygen. They can use this when they hold their breath underwater. MBALI Hopefully, this means less time breathing in chemicals in this drainpipe. ONLOOKER THREE Oh, there�s a tap here. MBALI There�s a tap. ONLOOKER THREE I�m going to find some, MBALI A bucket or something. MBALI But there is one big problem. MBALI There�s only, like, a drop of water. MBALI [Non-English]. ONLOOKER THREE [Non-English]. MBALI Bang goes that plan. But we can�t give up on the snake. MBALI All the staff members joined forces, and they went different directions to try and collect water. And suddenly, we�ve got gallons of water to flush the snake. MBALI So this is the lowest point. MBALI The staff have blocked this end to stop the snake getting out. I now need to give it an exit point. MBALI There we go. MBALI The pressure�s really on. If there�s bleach down the drain, this snake will be fighting for its life. MBALI Guys, [Non-English]. Go! MBALI Guys, [Non-English]. MBALI [Non-English], just freeze, okay? CREW It�s here! But it�s stopped! MBALI Coming through. MBALI So this is it, my first black mamba! MBALI Crew, can I please have some tools? Okay, crossing fingers. MBALI This is hectic. Black mambas are fast and unpredictable. It could shoot out and bite everyone the moment I touch it! MBALI I�m grabbing the snake, but I can sense something is just not right. MBALI Are you alive? No, guys, I think the snake is no more. I don�t think it�s alive. MBALI It�s stiff and lifeless but potentially still deadly. With mambas, you can never let your guard down. MBALI This is not the best position to be tonging a snake. Ag, man! This is not what I�d hoped for. The snake is dead, guys. ONLOOKER TWO The video that I have here that we took this morning, MBALI Ag. ONLOOKER TWO It was moving, alive. MBALI We were just too late. Ag, shame man. MBALI They�ve done everything right. They�ve contained the snake, they took video footage for us to identify, and they watched it. But then they put bleach down the drain. Just one mistake, and unfortunately, it killed the snake. I�m happy that Si and Sioux are not here for this one, as I�m sure they wouldn�t have liked that. But I hope they�re having a better time in India. MBALI Bye. SIMON We�re back in the centre of Mysore, among more than 1.4 million other people. The hustle and bustle never stops, and neither does Shyam�s phone. SIMON There really is no rest for the wicked. That is a harmless wolf snake, but their, ah! They bite quite hard. Ah! There we go, see. And you�re very pretty. That�s the only cobra we get here in Mysore. All right, darling. I�ll release you. SIMON Mysore is growing at an alarming rate, and the faster development accelerates, the more snakes seem to emerge everywhere. SIMON We�re back on a building site. Some builders went to get a bag of cement, and apparently, as they went to pick it up, there was a snake. And it�s probably a cobra, and apparently it�s gone in this storeroom. They keep the cement in here to keep it dry. SIMON No one can work until the snake has been removed. It�s tools down until we get it away. SIMON Um. SIMON Oh yeah, it is cement. Okay. Let�s just have a little peek in there. So somewhere in here is a snake. SIMON It�s a tight room, it�s quite small, it�s dark, and there�s lots of bags of cement. That�s the biggest issue. SIOUXSIE Of course. SIMON All right, let�s have a look. SNAKE SHYAM Shall we take help of, uh, workers? SIMON We can or, SIOUXSIE Do you know what? We never refuse help. SIMON Yeah. These are going to be heavy. SNAKE SHYAM Because why, SIOUXSIE You know? SNAKE SHYAM Because why, you know, we want to pull all cement bags, huh? SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE No, it�s a lot, you know. SIMON And let�s get, put the torch on. SIOUXSIE And suddenly, Simon pretends he�s got a back injury. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, right. SIOUXSIE So, you know, we know this. SNAKE SHYAM [Non-English]. SNAKE SHYAM Slowly, [Non-English]. SIMON Slowly, slowly, ja. SNAKE SHYAM [Non-English]. SNAKE SHYAM [Non-English]. SIMON The guy said it was brown in colour. So it could be a rat snake, which is harmless. It could be a cobra, which is obviously deadly. And the Russell�s viper is also brown. So any one of them three. SNAKE SHYAM So hot, see? SIOUXSIE Really hot, isn�t it? SIMON It�s hot in here, yeah. Yeah, it�s a hot day. Oh yeah, it�s boiling. SIMON It�s even hotter than in Durban. With temperatures reaching 40 degrees (104�F), the search for shade is a matter of life or death for these snakes. SNAKE SHYAM [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE Can you see all the way behind it all? SIMON No, not all the way. I don�t want him to put his hands in the wrong place. Oh, dusty. SNAKE SHYAM Slowly [Non-English]. SIOUXSIE You know, potentially, this could be a cobra, and this guy here is putting his hands close. Obviously, we do worry. SIMON Yeah. SNAKE SHYAM I�m very lucky, the people help us. SIOUXSIE People help you. Amazing. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON It�s very good, because it, it saves my back. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON You know? Yeah. SIOUXSIE So Shyam, Simon every day does loads of exercises. He runs, he does everything. SNAKE SHYAM Really, hey? SIOUXSIE The minute there�s some heavy bags, he says, oh, I�ve got a backache. SNAKE SHYAM Oh. SIOUXSIE You know? SIMON Yeah. SNAKE SHYAM It�s a drama. SIOUXSIE Exactly. SIMON Yeah, drama. Dusty. SIOUXSIE I know. SIMON It�s horrible. SIMON It�s a tin roof, so it�s boiling hot in here, and it�s just very, very dusty and not the best place for us nor the snake. SIMON There it is. SNAKE SHYAM It is there? SIMON It�s going that way. I just see a tip of tail. SIOUXSIE Ah, shame. SIMON He�s gone that way. SNAKE SHYAM This one? SIMON Ja. He�s gone behind there, yeah. SIOUXSIE Not coming out that side? SIMON I might be able to poke it out. Hold on. SNAKE SHYAM Simon, which snake? SIMON I think it might be a rat snake, but I only saw a tip of tail. Just look there. Sioux, you go there. I just see a little bit of tail there. SNAKE SHYAM No, no, no. SIOUXSIE Does this go down though? SIMON No? SIOUXSIE Oh, I can see it! I can see a tongue. SIMON What is it? SIOUXSIE No, I can just see the tongue flick. SIMON Poking, poking. SNAKE SHYAM No. You want to remove all bags? SIOUXSIE I can see the tongue. Ooh, there, look, look! Hey, what�s that? SNAKE SHYAM It�s coming. SIOUXSIE I just saw the head. I saw the head. SIMON Is it a rat snake or cobra? SIOUXSIE I really don�t know. It was dark. SIMON I only saw a bit of tail, so. SNAKE SHYAM Slowly, slowly. SIMON It just disappeared. SIMON We�re going to have to empty this place to stand any chance of catching it. SIMON If it�s a cobra, the closer they get, the more danger we�re all in. SIMON It may have gone into these bricks, you know that? All right, last two. Get ready. SNAKE SHYAM See if it�s there. SIMON Where�s it? Where�s it? Where�s it gone? SNAKE SHYAM It�s there? SIMON There, is that it? Where�s it gone? SIOUXSIE No. SIMON It�s gone in the bricks. Are these hollow? SIOUXSIE Let�s get this bag off, and then we can look down the gaps in here. We don�t know how big it was. Did you? SIMON It was big. SIOUXSIE Yeah, look. Look at these gaps. SIMON Yeah, it can go, SIOUXSIE Oh! Ah, it�s there. You see it? SIMON Where is it? Yeah, I�ll pull the bricks. SIOUXSIE Give me the torch. Look there. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE There, there, there. SIMON See if you can lift the brick up. SIOUXSIE Hang on, it�s coming, it�s moving. What is it? SNAKE SHYAM It�s a rat snake. SIOUXSIE It�s a rat snake. Yeah, so we�re moving here. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON Move there. SIOUXSIE Move this side? SIMON Yeah. Oh, this dust! SNAKE SHYAM First, we want to move that bricks. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Watch your feet, watch. SIMON Ooh. Yeah, it went down there. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON Now we know it�s a rat snake, it�s not dangerous, it�s completely harmless, we don�t have to worry about bites or anything like that. SIOUXSIE Oh. Ow, where�s it? Ah, it�s just gone under there. SIMON Where�s it gone? It�s fast. It�s gone that way. I�ll look for it. SIOUXSIE It�s just gone under here. It�s here, it�s here. SIMON Do you know what you�re going to do? Try and get it next time because, SIOUXSIE No, it�s not here, it�s not here, it�s not here. I�m sure I saw it go that way. SIMON We�ll have to move all this. SIOUXSIE I saw it go that way, I�m sure. SIMON Six foot (2 m) of snake vanished into thin air. SIOUXSIE Typical. I wore my pink shoes today. SNAKE SHYAM Oh no, leave that one. SIOUXSIE This isn�t a great scenario for any snake. Most snakes have one functioning lung, and this is cement dust. We�re struggling. So that poor snake, we need to get it out pretty quick. SIMON We all dropped our guard because it�s not a venomous snake, but now it�s really giving us the runaround. SIOUXSIE Oh, there, there, there. We saw something. SIMON Oh, there it is. Okay. Okay, here we go. Okay. SNAKE SHYAM You, you, you hold. You put the hand here. SIMON Okay. Yeah, okay, last one, this one. SNAKE SHYAM Simon, you put the hand here. SIMON Yeah. SIMON We have to be so careful not to crush the snake under the bricks. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON Gently. SIOUXSIE Okay, feel. SNAKE SHYAM Lift, lift, lift. SIOUXSIE No! No! SIMON Houdini the snake has disappeared again. Damn it! SIOUXSIE Bloody hell. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah, I think so. SIOUXSIE This one? SNAKE SHYAM No! SIOUXSIE This snake is crazy. SNAKE SHYAM There, there, there. There. SIOUXSIE Are you thinking here? SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Okay, go, go, go. SNAKE SHYAM It�s here. SIMON Where? Oh, he�s got it. SIOUXSIE Where? SIMON Behind you. It�s coming up this way. SIOUXSIE Ah! SIMON There it is. He�s fast, hey? SIOUXSIE Oh, watch your head. Yow, amazing! SNAKE SHYAM It�s, it�s under the floor, it�s under floor, yeah. SIOUXSIE Oh, shame, poor, SIMON Ay-yay! SIOUXSIE Poor snake. Whew! Shame. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Shall we take this poor snake outside where he can breathe. SIMON Yeah, let�s get out of here. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIOUXSIE The snake can breathe. SIMON It�s horrible. SIOUXSIE The state of us! SNAKE SHYAM Let�s see. See backside. See. SNAKE SHYAM Turn this side. SIOUXSIE Oh. That�s just an excuse. I bet there�s no, that there�s no dust there, is there? I know your game. SIMON All this cement dust, I�m feeling quite left out. Who�s going to pat my butt? SIMON Hey, what about me? SIOUXSIE Oh, shame. SNAKE SHYAM Yeah. SIMON What about me? SNAKE SHYAM There we are. Sorry. Because you are flat. SIMON Ah. Beautiful snake, covered in dust, but, uh, got it in the end. It was fast, gave us the runaround. SIOUXSIE Super-fast. SIMON And, uh, this is still a small rat snake. These things get big, 10-12 feet (3-4 metres), easy. SIOUXSIE A food item in there by the feel of it. SIMON Shyam reckons, on average, a rat snake, a fairly large one, can eat up to, like, 300 rats a year. That�s a lot of rats. So we need these snakes around. SIOUXSIE Yeah, no, definitely. SIMON Snakes eat rats. Rats carry disease. So snakes basically help keep the city clean. SIOUXSIE They want to touch. Yeah, sure. SIMON You want to touch? SIOUXSIE Come on then. Nice, huh? ONLOOKER: Yeah, nice. SNAKE SHYAM Come darling. SIOUXSIE Gently, gently. Whew, just, oh, he wants to go in. So it probably went in there just to digest its prey item, but somebody saw it. Whew, look at this. Next call-out, can you try and make it like a hairdressers or a salon or somewhere, please? SIMON A beauty place. SIOUXSIE Instead of these kind of places. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Cheers, guys. Thank you. SIMON Bye-bye, guys. SIOUXSIE Thank you. SIMON Bye-bye. SOUXSIE Here in the city, it�s non-stop around the clock. SIMON Hi. Hello. There it is! Oh, okay, that is a kukri snake. Unfortunately, sometimes people mistake them for kraits. And it�s completely harmless, as you can see, unlike the krait. SOUXSIE And if you thought this city was busy during the day, it really comes alive after dark. Shyam�s on call 24/7. SIMON Shyam, hey. It�s chaos. SIOUXSIE And that means, so are we. SIOUXSIE Ah, mad! SIMON That�s everything. Thanks. SIOUXSIE Some of India�s deadliest snakes are nocturnal, and a lot of them end up looking for prey inside people�s homes. SIMON Well, it�s all happening tonight, because we were on our way with Shyam to a call-out. He�s had to leave us to go off to do another call. Got a lady in her own house. She�s seen a snake, she�s quite scared. So I�m just going to. Hello. How are you? SIOUXSIE Hello. Namaste. SIMON It is okay to come in? RESIDENT Namaste. SIMON Thank you. Yeah, yes, fine. SIOUXSIE Namaste. Are you okay? SIOUXSIE I don't know if she�s more terrified of us or the snake. SIMON Under there? All right. Where�s the torch? Let�s just have a look here. SIOUXSIE Here, take that. You take that. So, what, what was it? Big, small? CREW [Non-English] SIOUXSIE Big or, big or small? It�s big. You�re saying it�s, she�s saying it�s really big. SIMON Okay. SIOUXSIE It�s a woman. I trust her. She�s going to be accurate with size. Just saying. SIMON Okay, right, let me have a look here. SIOUXSIE Right. Are you okay? Yeah? SIMON Somewhere under there. SIOUXSIE This poor woman can�t go to sleep until the snake�s gone. Like most people here, she probably sleeps on the floor. SIMON Yeah, there�s something back there. SIOUXSIE What a nightmare! SIOUXSIE You see it? SIMON Ooh! Yes, I do, and it�s on the move. SIMON It looks like a krait, a bigger krait. A big krait, yeah. SIMON She was right to be scared. SIOUXSIE It�s called a common krait, but we don�t see them often. This is India�s most potent, venomous snake. SIMON If you�re bitten by one of them, it�s hospital as quickly as you can. They�re more toxic than a cobra, drop for drop, their venom. And they hunt at nighttime, they�re nocturnal, and they feed on other snakes. SIOUXSIE For such a small snake, it packs a deadly punch. SIMON If it bites me on a finger, the tiny fangs could pump ten times the lethal dose of venom into my bloodstream. The neurotoxins cause the fastest fatality rate of all the Big Four. SIMON Symptoms are muscular paralysis, respiratory collapse and cardiac arrest. Small snake, small fangs, hugely deadly. Don�t underestimate them. SIMON Kraits, they�re normally quite kind of docile. But at nighttime, they become quite grumpy, because that�s when they�re hunting. And they can move fairly quick when they want to. This one�s probably about a medium-sized krait. They do get to around sort of a metre (3 ft). Right, let me see if I can lay on my belly. SIOUXSIE You�re going to bring it out anyway, aren�t you? SIMON Yeah, I�m going to try, or let me see, SIMON I certainly wouldn�t want to sleep on the floor with this thing. SIMON Take that out the way. I�m going to, I�m going to hook it if I can. It�s going to start wriggling. Here we go. Ooh, okay. It�s wriggling away. Come here, you. It�s going that way, Sioux. Nope, it�s gone that way. That�s fine. SIOUXSIE Ooh, trying to get it. SIMON Don�t, don�t let it escape. That�s it. Gently. SIOUXSIE Yeah. Ooh. Haven�t got it. SIMON No, it is going to be wriggly. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, come back here. SIOUXSIE It�s okay. Yeah, bless her, she�s really worried. SIMON Oh, under. Woah! No, no. Sioux, it�s gone that way. SIOUXSIE Here, I�ve got it this side. This side. Wait, wait, but I�ve got no torch. SIMON That�s okay. Just see if you can wriggle it out. SIOUXSIE I know, I am. SIMON It�s very wriggly. SIOUXSIE No, it�s gone back, it�s gone back. SIMON They�re very wriggly when they want to. SIOUXSIE It�s like we�re playing a game of tennis with this snake. At one point, it�s with Simon. Then it�s back to me. And then back to Simon, back to me. And guess what? We�re both really bad at tennis. SIMON Hey? SIOUXSIE Can you nudge it? SIMON Okay. SIOUXSIE Those things are in my way. I can�t. SIMON Can you see it? Don�t worry about that, don�t worry about the pots. SIOUXSIE No, I�m just, SIMON Where is it? SIOUXSIE I�ll probably have to, here, I�m bringing it out. SIMON You getting it? Okay, bring it out. SIOUXSIE I think so, but it�s caught, it�s caught, it�s caught. SIMON Ooh. SIOUXSIE I�ve hooked around it. SIMON Don�t, don�t just grab it by the tail. You�ll have it, SIOUXSIE I�m not, no. I�ve got the, SIMON Lift it up gently. SIOUXSIE I can�t. It�s caught. This corner here is caught. SIMON Okay, I�ve got it. Move, move, I�ll grab that. I could�ve grabbed it then. SIOUXSIE Going back, going back, it should be. Oh, this torch, I can�t see a thing. SIMON There it is. It�s coming my way. Right, just touch it. Okay, let it come out. Let it come out. Slowly, slowly. That�s it. I wanted to not let it out. SIOUXSIE Don�t go outside. SIMON Do not bite me. Okay, got it. Let�s bring it out into the open. SIOUXSIE Here, bring it here. SIMON Grab your torch. SIOUXSIE Here, bring it here. SIMON Yeah, see. Right, okay, snake. So you�ve got to be careful when you grab a krait. See? They can turn very quickly. Nope. Very fast snakes at night. During the daytime, not like this. Highly irascible snakes. And they can climb their, climb up on their own body as well, so you�ve got to watch it. And unfortunately, these have been known to crawl into people�s bedrooms and things like that at nighttime. SIMON And unfortunately, people roll over and they end up getting bitten. And sometimes, they don�t even know they�ve been bitten. They start to feel ill after a few minutes. So it�s not something you mess around with. Got serious respect for these snakes. Pretty but deadly. Okay, what I�m going to do, I�m not going to upset it any longer than we have to, and this lady probably wants to get herself off to bed. SIOUXSIE Shame, you did so well. SIMON So bring the bucket in the middle, chuck your bag in, just drop it in. SIOUXSIE You told me to cover it. SIMON No, no. It will cover itself. SIOUXSIE Yeah, I know. SIMON Ready? Get the lid. That�s it, in. Okay, that�s it. SIOUXSIE Wow. SIMON Just putting the bag in there just gives it something to hide under. And then probably tomorrow, we can take it, put it back far away from any people in the forest. SIOUXSIE She was right to be worried. Bless you. You did so well. You did really well. SIMON Yeah, that�s good. Well done. Thank you. SIOUXSIE Thank you for watching it the whole time. SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE That helps. So thank you. SIMON All right? Lovely. SIOUXSIE So I think this lady�s calmed down now. She wants a selfie. SIMON There we are. Okay. SIOUXSIE Cool. SIMON Yay. SIOUXSIE Yeah, happy? Yeah, cool. SIMON No problem. SIOUXSIE That�s everything. I haven�t got, SIMON Thank you. SIOUXSIE Have you got the torches? SIMON Yup. SIOUXSIE There we go. SIMON Beautiful krait in the bucket, all nice and safe. It�s been a crazy night. SIMON Another day, another snake disrupting the workplace. SIMON Hi. Hi, hi. Indian rat snake. You got it? Ooh. Okay, here we go. Ooh, it bit me, this one. The first one that�s bitten out of, what, 20 or so? SIMON From the city to the countryside, snakes and humans are coming into contact more often. We�ve had a call from Gowri, who�s also been rescuing snakes around the clock. Even out here, their natural habitat is shrinking as agriculture and human encroachment gobbles up precious snake territory. SIMON Gowri�s just received a call. Apparently some workers were working on this house behind us, a big house, renovating it, and a big king cobra came in. They all got scared, ran out, left the premises. So we�re going to go in there and see if we can find it, and if we do, relocate it. SIMON Wow, what an awesome door. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIMON This could be the rescue I�ve been waiting for. GOWRI SHANKER Just be careful. He might be anywhere. SIMON Yeah, yeah, anywhere. Oh, there�s a lot of stuff in here, hey? GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIOUXSIE So it�s only been about a half hour since you got the call? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, about 20-30 minutes, so. SIOUXSIE And I know they ran, but did they say it�s a big one? They, they�re always big, but was it a biggish one or? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, a big one. You know, these guys have, they know their snakes. SIOUXSIE Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER It�s venomous, non-venomous, king cobra, SIOUXSIE So they know exactly what it is. GOWRI SHANKER Rat snake. They don�t make a mistake. SIOUXSIE Quite open though. SIMON There�s a lot of places to search. Shall we split up for a bit? Check all the way around the edge first. You know what to do. Okay, well, I�m going to start over here. Wow, this place is amazing. SIMON But it�s seriously spooky. I feel like I�m on the set of some haunted house movie and the world�s largest venomous snake is lurking here somewhere. SIMON There�s a lot of stuff in here. SIOUXSIE It�s so eerie here without the usual crowd looking on. SIMON Literally, it could be anywhere. I just hope it hasn�t got out. SIOUXSIE GILLETT VO: Normally with the king cobra rescues, we see them immediately. But this one has completely disappeared. SIMON Half the snakes we�ve caught, king cobras, since our little adventure started have been up high, like trees or in roofs. So that�s why I�ve been checking the roof as well. SIOUXSIE So have the builders refused to come back until? SIMON Anything your side? GOWRI SHANKER Until the snake, SIOUXSIE Nothing. We�ve, uh, it�s pretty open, to be honest. SIMON All right. SIOUXSIE We haven�t done this bit. We�re just about to do here. SIMON I�ll go over here then. GOWRI SHANKER I wish the building people were here to show us, you know? SIMON Yeah, then it would�ve been quicker. GOWRI SHANKER It�s crazy. SIMON Normally, they hang around, but I think maybe they got too scared this time around. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIOUXSIE This is a great place, lots of places for it to go and hide. And clearly, it is hiding very well, because we can�t find it. So Simon, I can see your hook. I can see all the way through. SIMON Oh, can ya? There�s nothing there? SIOUXSIE Nothing. SIMON All right. I�ll just have a look up here, up in the roof here then. From the ones I�ve caught so far with Gowri, they, they seem quite reluctant to move off unless they have to. And then, like all snakes, they�d rather get away. But obviously, once you grab it by the tail, then everything changes. GOWRI SHANKER Any luck, Simon? SIMON No. SIOUXSIE Oh. SIMON Alright, well where is it then? SIMON Every time I go around a corner, I�m expecting the snake to show itself and give us all a fright. SIMON Have you checked up here? GOWRI SHANKER Not yet. SIMON All right. Oh. SIOUXSIE Ooh. Are you okay? SIMON It feels like we�ve searched absolutely everywhere. I�m starting to wonder if this snake is still even here. GOWRI SHANKER Nope. SIOUXSIE Gowri, if you was a king cobra, where would you go? SIMON Yeah. SIOUXSIE Come on. GOWRI SHANKER I would find a nice, dark space now and a cool place. SIOUXSIE We�re losing light now. We need to find this snake. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON Gee, I hope it�s not in there, because that�s going to be a hell of a thing. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIMON It could actually get in here. And you�ve checked that wood? Yeah, you�ve done that, haven�t you? SIOUXSIE That, because you can see underneath there. GOWRI SHANKER Hey, Simon? SIMON Yes? GOWRI SHANKER Come here. There�s a burrow here. Oh, he�s here! SIMON Have you found him? Where? Where, where? GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, right here. Look at this. SIMON Why didn�t we look there? SIOUXSIE Oh! GOWRI SHANKER This is the, the drainpipe. SIMON Oh yes! SIOUXSIE So you think it�s been coming in and out all the time? GOWRI SHANKER Yes! Look at this. Unfortunately, this connects the snake world and the human world. SIMON Wow. GOWRI SHANKER And they use it. I�ve caught snakes like this before. GOWRI SHANKER Ooh, that�s a huge one. SIOUXSIE So he could�ve been here for weeks, coming in every day. Builders would never have known. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON It�s a good home. SIOUXSIE And he�s probably been living in there. GOWRI SHANKER And they just spotted him today. SIMON He�s settled down for the night now. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. SIOUXSIE Oh, shame. SIMON Which means he�s going to be really pissed (bleep) when we try and remove him. GOWRI SHANKER So, Simon? SIOUXSIE So. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER What I�ll do, I�ll go to the other side and gently nudge him. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah? And, uh, SIMON I�ll stand up there then. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON And if he comes out, hopefully, by then, you�ll be back around. If not, GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON I�ll stop him from, I don�t want him going up here into this. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. Good? Okay. SIMON Okay. All right. SIOUXSIE Okay. SIMON Get ready. Let�s get up there then. So the plan is to try and nudge it out into this courtyard where it�s kind of secure, hopefully, and then get it into the bag. It sounds simple, doesn�t it? Wait till it comes out. It�s not so simple then. That�s a big snake. Okay, whenever you�re ready, Gowri. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. Simon, ready? SIMON Yes, ready. Ready as I�ll ever be. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. Okay. Oh, he�s hissing. He�s not happy. SIOUXSIE It�s a waiting game. It�s either going to turn up to Gowri or come to us. SIMON I don�t want to scare it back in. They�re not stupid snakes. Ooh, we can hear it hissing. GOWRI SHANKER Is he coming? SIMON He�s growling. GOWRI SHANKER Yep. SIMON Can�t see it yet. GOWRI SHANKER He�s growling. SIMON He�s going to come out there like a madman with an axe. SIMON I�m ready. I�m itching to go. Where�s the damn snake? SIOUXSIE There�s a problem. GOWRI SHANKER He�s growling, hooding up. He�s tonguing. SIMON Okay. I can hear him, still can�t see him. SIMON We�re waiting and waiting, and the anticipation is huge. Your adrenaline�s going, the heart rate�s going. You just want the snake to come out. SIOUXSIE Oh, oh, oh, oh. I can see movement, I can see movement, hold on. SIMON Okay, slight movement. GOWRI SHANKER He�s quite happy there. He doesn�t want to come out. SIOUXSIE Oh, there we go, there we go, there we go, I see something. SIMON Oh, I�ve got a bit of tail. SIOUXSIE It�s a loop. GOWRI SHANKER Got him? SIMON I�ve got a loop. I can try and pull him out. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, try pulling him out. SIMON I think I�m ready for this moment in my life, to catch a king cobra on my own, but they�re big snakes, they�re powerful. Just be super alert and keep your eyes on the snake at all times. SIMON Can you go that side because of that tree stump? I don�t know which end I�ve got here. Tail, I hope. SIOUXSIE Tail, tail, tail. SIMON Okay, I�ve got a tail. GOWRI SHANKER Got him? SIOUXSIE Ooh, it�s big. SIOUXSIE Now this is Simon�s opportunity to put all of his training into practice. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. Can you pull him out? SIMON Oh, okay, pulling. SIOUXSIE Gently, gently, gently. SIMON Gently, gently. That�s a big snake. SIOUXSIE Don�t want to hurt it. SIMON Turn it around that way. Okay. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah? SIMON Okay, I�ve got it. Right, mind out, Sioux. It�s a big snake. SIMON King cobras are strong, especially one this size. Like, they�re just pure muscle. SIMON Move back, move back. SIOUXSIE Okay, bring out, bring out, bring out. SIMON Ooh, you�re a big boy. SIMON I�m thinking to myself, don�t get bitten, don�t die. There�s no antivenom, so don�t screw this up. GOWRI SHANKER Simon was there at the right spot, and he grabbed it and kept him under control by the time I could reach to the other side. SIOUXSIE Don�t go too far. SIMON Yeah, I�m doing it gently. GOWRI SHANKER Okay? SIMON He�s all right. He�s out. Gowri, I�ve got him out. GOWRI SHANKER Oh, you�ve got him? That�s good. SIMON Yeah, I got him out there. Hey. GOWRI SHANKER Oh, what a huge guy! SIMON He�s focusing on you now. SIOUXSIE Oh, shame. SIMON Oh, all right, big boy. GOWRI SHANKER Watch out, watch out, watch out. SIMON Yeah, watch out, move around. You need a lot of space to deal with these things. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON This is the king of all snakes, it�s the world�s largest venomous snake, and I�m holding it by the tail and it�s looking at me right in the face. Let�s hope I don�t mess this up. SIMON Got him? I�m distracting him. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, I�ve got him, thanks. SIMON Thank you. There we go. GOWRI SHANKER That was good, Simon. SIMON He�s a pretty boy. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah, attractive. SIMON Wow, look at your head. SIOUXSIE Oh, look at that. SIMON Wow. SIOUXSIE Oh, you were just going to bed. What a shame. SIMON Oh, shame. Sorry, dude. SIOUXSIE Sorry. GOWRI SHANKER Good. Oh! SIMON Oh, so alert. SIOUXSIE And do you know, apart from being super alert, I�ll say there�s no aggression. But there isn�t. You know, he could�ve lunged at you so many times. GOWRI SHANKER Yes, yes. SIOUXSIE And he�s just standing his ground. SIOUXSIE This is so different from dealing with black mambas, forest cobras, nothing like we�ve dealt with before. SIMON Right, what�s the plan? GOWRI SHANKER Let�s get the pipe ready. Oh! SIMON Shall we get the pipe ready, Sioux? SIOUXSIE Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. SIMON I�ll help Sioux quickly. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIOUXSIE So the aim of this is the snake will find a nice tunnel, like it was in originally actually, to go in. SIMON Yeah. Put that like that, and then, okay. GOWRI SHANKER Okay, ready? SIMON Yeah. Where do you want us? Just here? GOWRI SHANKER That�s perfect, yeah. And keep the bagger ready in case, if he doesn�t go into the pipe. SIMON Yeah, bagger ready. Okay, let�s get that ready. GOWRI SHANKER Plan B. SIMON All right. GOWRI SHANKER Ready? SIMON Yeah, yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Oop. SIMON Ooh. Okay, now he�s got his mouth open. SIOUXSIE Snake�s got Plan C in mind. GOWRI SHANKER He�s, he�s not happy. SIMON That�s it. GOWRI SHANKER Okay. Oof. SIOUXSIE Hey, go on, you. GOWRI SHANKER He�s heavy. SIMON They�re heavy, hey? GOWRI SHANKER We need a much bigger hook. SIMON Yep. Yeah. SIOUXSIE Come on, you. SIMON Oh, he�s got the, SIOUXSIE Oh, he�s bitten the torch. SIMON Oh, he�s bitten the torch. SIOUXSIE Wow! GOWRI SHANKER No, no, no. SIMON Oh, he don�t like that. SIOUXSIE There�s me saying he�s not aggressive. SIMON Oh, watch him, watch him. Watch him, watch him. GOWRI SHANKER Watch him, watch him. SIMON Yeah, you stay there. Yeah, he means business. He�s not happy now. GOWRI SHANKER He means business, yeah. SIMON Come on, boy. GOWRI SHANKER Okay, okay. SIOUXSIE Ooh, looks like it�s going to oblige. SIMON Keep cool. Keep still, keep still, keep still, keep still. In you go, boy. SIOUXSIE Going somewhere new. GOWRI SHANKER Oh-oh! SIMON No, he�s coming back out. GOWRI SHANKER That�s not good. SIMON No. SIOUXSIE That�s quite a good pause there. SIMON He didn�t like, like that. SIOUXSIE No. He says no. GOWRI SHANKER They think for some time. SIMON Yeah. Come on. SIOUXSIE Come on, you, bedtime. SIMON Bedtime? GOWRI SHANKER Okay, bedtime. SIOUXSIE Then we can go to bed. Hey, he says no. SIMON No. SIOUXSIE I have other plans. GOWRI SHANKER Go ahead. Go into that, go in. That�s the burrow. That�s a burrow. That�s your bed. SIMON Look at that. SIOUXSIE See, I love it. Oh, look at their eyesight. It�s so amazing how he looked own into that hole. SIMON Such a huge head. SIOUXSIE No, again. SIMON He�s, yeah, they�re clever snakes, kings. They almost, they look at you right in the face and try and work you out and trying to calculate things in their heads. Shall I go? Is this safe for me to get in there? I was quite safe in my own little home till you pulled me out. SIOUXSIE He is assessing the situation. Should he antagonise Gowri a little bit more? GOWRI SHANKER We don�t have all day. You should go. SIMON No, yeah. GOWRI SHANKER We will let you go into the forest, and you can go back to sleep. Okay, I�m going to try again. SIMON Yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Show him. He�s not happy. Oop. SIMON No. Doesn�t like the fact you�ve got his tail. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, a little bit more. SIOUXSIE Oh, oh, oh, a tease this is. SIMON Watch out, he�s coming up now. GOWRI SHANKER Simon? SIMON Yeah, bag him? GOWRI SHANKER I need your help. SIMON All right. GOWRI SHANKER Get the bagger. SIMON All right. Bagger ready. GOWRI SHANKER Yes. SIMON Sioux, hold that stick as well just in case. GOWRI SHANKER Ready? SIMON Yep. GOWRI SHANKER No. SIMON No. Geez, he wants to kill everything. GOWRI SHANKER No, no, he knows, yeah. SIMON He knows, hey. GOWRI SHANKER It�s good. SIOUXSIE Uh-uh, no. SIMON Nope. GOWRI SHANKER No. SIOUXSIE No. He�s saying no. SIMON Watch out, yeah. GOWRI SHANKER Hold on, go there. SIMON Yeah, maybe. SIOUXSIE Come on. There we go, there we go, there we go. SIMON Keep going, keep. Look at that! You�ve got it. You�re going to try and scoop it that way? Yeah. Watch out. GOWRI SHANKER Here, take it, take it. SIMON That�s it, yes, okay. GOWRI SHANKER Take the bag, take the bag. SIMON Okay. In you go, big boy. He�s even bending the bag. GOWRI SHANKER Yeah. We need much stronger baggers. SIMON Yeah, that�s heavy. GOWRI SHANKER Look at that. SIMON 30 years of dealing with venomous snakes, I finally catch my king cobra, the first one. It�s an amazing experience. Thanks to Gowri, thanks to Siouxsie, everyone�s help, it�s safely in the bag, and we can take it somewhere nice and release it. GOWRI SHANKER Whew! SIMON It was pretty hair-raising. Yeah, he didn�t want to go in either contraptions that we have here. Yeah, all snakes, they�ve got their own temperament at the end of the day. And you know, like, Gowri�s caught, like, 400-odd of these things, and they all differ. SIOUXSIE Sorry, we�ve got to get that. SIMON Sometimes they, that�s quite cute, bless it. Like a sock on your hand, you know, playing, SIOUXSIE Cobra puppet. SIMON Puppet, yeah. SIOUXSIE Simon�s hard work and training has definitely paid off. This is a dream come true. Thank you, India. GOWRI SHANKER Hold that. SIMON Yeah. Now, black mambas are super-fast and obviously potently deadly, but they�re not as intelligent as these. It�s not called the king for nothing. GOWRI SHANKER There�s a lot of people get really excited and they want to handle snakes, you know. But Simon and Sioux, they were so patient, they were waiting for the chance, and they took some time to do this. That shows the snakes are very, very important. SIMON So that was a first for me, hopefully not the last. Happy? GOWRI SHANKER Happy. SIMON Let�s go. Come. SIOUXSIE I�ve had an amazing time in India. What an experience, firstly, capturing king cobras, just working with Gowri and, of course, Shyam. It�s always a laugh a minute with him, and, uh, his techniques are incredible. We�ve learnt a lot from this trip. SNAKE SHYAM I think it�s a male snake. SIMON Yeah. SNAKE SHYAM It likes the bra. SIMON It likes bra. SNAKE SHYAM Because of the influence of Siouxsie, SNAKE SHYAM so many ladies and girls, they are rescuing snakes. SNAKE SHYAM It�s amazing. SIMON What does the king cobra like to eat? CHILDREN: The other snakes. SIMON Other snakes? That�s right. SIMON It�s been an amazing experience, obviously, firstly, to get to see the king cobras and to catch some. SIMON But the whole India thing is just fantastic. Wherever you go, there�s such a good vibe. The food is amazing. So if you�ve never been to India, get yourself over there. You never know, you might see some king cobras too. SIMON As temperatures rise and natural habitat turns into concrete jungle, snakes are starting to migrate into new territories across the globe. GOWRI SHANKER Begin. SIOUXSIE So keep your eyes peeled and your phones ready. Some cool snakes could be moving into a city near you. SNAKE SHYAM Thank you, darling, I love you.