Bhubaneswar, Oct. 1: A king cobra, brought all the way from Jharkhand to pacify a female serpent at a Shiva temple here, was today rescued by a team of wildlife lovers and treated at the veterinary hospital of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology.

The cobra, found at the temple in Niladri Vihar, was recently sold to a snake-charmer in Jharkhand.

A few days later, the temple authorities and devotees regularly spotted a female cobra on the campus.

Contemplating that the snake could be a “bereaved nagin”, the people decided to bring back her “partner” from the neighbouring state. A team was sent to Jharkhand and the cobra was brought to the temple here.

A group of snake lovers, however, dismissed the cobra drama as the outcome of superstition. “In spite of all our efforts, the people were adamant about their superstitious beliefs,” said Suvendu Mallick, who is a member of a “snake helpline”.

Yesterday, the snake activists came to know that a cobra had been seen lying still on the temple premises for the past few days. “This, too, was a case of superstition as people believed that its death would be a bad omen for them,” said Bibhu Dutt, another activist.

After rescuing the snake, the helpline members took it to the hospital.

Tapan Patnaik, associate professor in surgery who performed an operation on the snake, said it had a lower mandibular fracture and broken fangs, besides nasal and oral cavity infection. “This happened due to forced removal of its fangs. The snake had not taken food for the past 10 days,” the doctor said.

The therapy would continue for the next three days, which would be followed by an X-ray, he added. During this time, the snake would be administered “forced feeding”.

Activists of the helpline, however, are not sure if “believers” will leave the snake on its own after it recovers.