A 11-ft female cobra, which entered a human habitat in Chinnampathi village near Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border was rescued and released into the forest today.

On being informed of the sighting, forest department officials, led by Madukkarai Forest Range Officer M Senthilkumar, rushed to the spot, along with a snake catcher AR Ameen.

The queen cobra, which comes under the king cobra family, is venomous and was noticed by a villager this morning, Senthilkumar said. This is third king cobra that the department is rescuing in the Madukkarai forest range, he said.

The cobra was found just 200 meters away from a house, and might have come in search of food, which mainly consists of small snakes, and water. The cobra was captured within a few minutes and released to the forest, Senthilkumar said.