Facing your fear: Safiq (right) demonstrating the correct way to handle a king cobra during a ‘snake confidence’ training session in Marang, Terengganu. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Membership in this club is not for the faint-hearted.
Meet the King Cobra Squad (SKC) – the only snake handling team in the Fire and Rescue Department.
Set up in 2015, it now has 20 staff members, with six of them stationed at the Wakaf Tapai Fire and Rescue Academy here.
At the academy recently, snake-handling training conducted by the SKC since Aug 1 was in progress.
SKC chief instructor, who is also senior fire officer II, Safiq Mohamad, told Bernama:
“Snakes are wild animals with the potential to attack humans, and as such we need to overcome the phobia of snakes by undergoing regular ‘snake confidence’ training within a glass enclosure at the Snake Training Gallery here.
“This allows the team to adapt themselves to the behavioural patterns of snake species such as the king cobra, monocled cobra and spitting cobra. Regular training is needed to acquire handling and manipulation techniques in catching snakes.
“What’s interesting is that many other parties are also interested in undergoing training with SKC, especially the Emergency Response Teams at factories and other government agencies.
“They will undergo various types of training including the theoretical aspects covering an introduction to snakes and various species, as well as early treatment for snakebite victims,” he added.
The squad has a handbook containing training modules that are updated every year to equip the team with the techniques and knowledge in handling snakes.
The training modules have to be regularly updated, given that there are over 200 species of snakes in Malaysia – most of them have yet to be identified, with only 20 species known to be living near human settlements.
To date, SKC has provided training to the air force and armed forces, and has also collaborated with defence forces from other countries, including the United States and Brunei, as part of efforts to make Malaysia a referral nation for providing modules in handling poisonous snakes and other animals.
“Snakes that are usually used for training are the reticulated python and king cobra as these species are commonly found intruding into Malaysian homes. During training, these snakes are left to slither on our legs and body,” Safiq said.
SKC usually receives phone calls from the public through the emergency line 999, he added.
It gets nearly 200 to 300 calls yearly related to snakes in the state, while the department is estimated to receive nearly 20,000 snake-related cases nationwide every year.
Safiq’s advice to the public: Don’t panic when a snake enters your house as it will exhibit certain defensive behaviours, and will only bite if provoked.
You should ensure the snake is quarantined in a closed area and that the door is closed when it enters the room.
If someone is bitten by a snake, the most important thing is to identify the snake species and whether it is venomous or non-venomous. It is best that a photo of the snake is taken.
Once bitten, the victim should immediately be rushed to a government hospital, and not to a clinic or private hospital. This is because anti-venom medication is only available at government hospitals.
“The area that is bitten should also be bandaged and should not be too tight, to avoid the venom from spreading to other parts of the body,” he said.
Safiq recalled an experience when he was nearly bitten by a king cobra during an operation on March 19 at a house in Kampung Serada, Kuala Terengganu.
“At that time, the snake was on the rooftop and I had to climb up to catch it. Suddenly, the zinc roof that I stepped on broke and my right leg was trapped.
“The snake was about to strike at me and fortunately I managed to ward off the serpent’s head with my left leg,” he said.
