Twenty-six snakelets have hatched out of eggs laid by a banded krait at the Alipore zoo. Banded kraits are known for their black and yellow crossbands and deadly venom.

Zoo keepers separated eggs from the mother with a hook and a tong and kept them in an artificial incubator. “The humidity was between 80 and 90 per cent and temperature between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius,” said zoo director Asis Kumar Samanta. The hatching of the snakelets continued from May 31 to June 8.