Emergency snake catcher and Thai snake charmer Jirawat Iamlamay was asked to help capture a deadly cobra in Ang Thong, Thailand late last month, after the snake showed up on the patio of a home.
Using traditional Thai snake charmer skills, he mesmerized and then calmed the cobra by moving his head around and tapping his hand close to it, in order to keep it distracted while he moved in for the capture.
As he did so, he slowly made it more comfortable with his presence by grasping it around its body, lowering it back to the ground and then using his palm around the back of the cobra’s hood to force it flat to the ground.
Once there, he had complete control over it, and the snake could then be safely removed from the home’s patio and put back in the wild where it belonged.
Interestingly, Jirawat did all this smoothly, slowly and calmly while wearing nothing more protective of himself than shorts, flip flops and a long-sleeve jacket.
As he explained afterwards about the snake charming, ”The key is never take your eyes off the snake. But do not let it focus on you. Stay calm but keep moving.’’
Snake charming in Thailand
Snake charming in Thailand is a traditional art that has been occurring in the Kingdom for hundreds of years. It is often an inherited profession, with sons and daughters learning it from their parents.
Related: How to avoid being bitten by a snake in Thailand — you MUST watch this video!
It has also become a big tourist attraction in Thailand in the last few decades, for both Thai and international tourists, with snake charming shows occurring daily in places like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket.
In the case of Thai snake charmer Jirawat Iamlamay and his capture of a deadly cobra, however, he was just doing a public service and helping a local homeowner feel a little safer in his own home.
Watch Khun Jirawat’s Thai snake charmer skills in the video below. And try not to freak out when it seems as though the snake may bite him.
Related: 12 deadly Thai snakes caught in a Surat Thani home — cobras and pythons, yikes!
