The Cobra Under My Desk

The morning I was late to my lab in Borneo was the morning that a king cobra took up residence under my desk. It may well be why I am still alive so I have to thank Deborah, my pembantu (assistant).

For several years, I divided my time between my position as a US university professor and a visiting professor at Indonesian universities. I had a home on the campus of Universitas Tanjungpura on the west coast of Borneo.

Each morning, I would wake up early, exercise, and take a mandi, or shower, by scooping up a bucket of water from a cool water tank and pouring it over my head. This was a wonderfully refreshing start to the day. Deborah would lay out a breakfast of fresh tropical fruit and bread along with a pot of local coffee. I would then walk or ride my bike across campus to a large white building that housed my lab.

The lab had been built by the Australian aid agency and was a modern, well-equipped biochemistry and physiology lab. I was there to train the faculty in modern environmental research. I would begin each day by arriving before my colleagues to sit at my desk and plan the day, accompanied by more delicious coffee.

On this morning, Deborah was almost an hour late. I did not mind. But when I arrived at the lab, the doors were locked. I saw a group of people gathered around my desk.

Before long, the building operator came out of the lab bearing a large shovel. On the shovel was a very large Sunda king cobra, Ophiophagus bungarus, with its head cut off. It had been curled up under my desk. The building operator happened to see the end of its tail sticking out.

I have been around wild animals my whole life, from bears, tigers, and orangutans to various venomous snakes, and I maintain a high awareness of my surroundings when I am outside. Had I been to work on time, this cobra would likely have bitten me before I even knew of its presence.

Photo: In my lab with a few of my colleagues in Borneo