A viral video from India has stunned social media users, showing a cobra emerging from a hotel toilet. The incident took place in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where guests at a hotel’s second-floor restroom suddenly heard hissing sounds coming from a toilet bowl. When they looked closer, a five-foot (1.5-metre) cobra reared its head out of the water, staring back at them.
Startled guests quickly stepped back; some filmed the scene on their phones while others whispered nervously about how the snake had reached the second floor. Hotel staff were alerted and immediately called the local “Cobra Team,” a group of snake handlers trained to remove venomous reptiles.
When experts arrived, the cobra resisted capture, but the team safely contained it and later released it into nearby forestland, bringing the terrifying episode to a calm close. The guest’s footage has since gone viral online, sparking reactions ranging from shock to jokes about using toilets at night.
Experts note that rising temperatures, increased humidity and shrinking habitats caused by urban expansion are driving snakes into human environments. During the monsoon season, the problem intensifies as snakes seek dry, sheltered spaces, sometimes ending up in bathrooms and homes.
Although the chance of encountering a snake in a hotel is low, travellers are advised to check rooms thoroughly—behind curtains, under beds, inside bathrooms and cupboards—and keep bathroom and balcony doors tightly shut. If a snake is spotted, do not attempt to remove it yourself; instead, notify hotel staff so trained professionals can handle it safely.
