India, Aug. 8 -- The 7th hole at the SEPTDA golf club, Chandimandir, is eye-catching. But a jarring note was struck in the scenic lushness by a golfer's eyeballing video gone viral. The golfer was seen exhibiting his "commando skills" with a fleeing Indian cobra. Filmed on a cellphone by the golfer's playing companion (heard in the video warning the golfer) in a reel lasting 1 minute and 57 seconds, the wilful manhandling and kissing of the cobra invited censure from the Haryana forest department and wildlife experts.

Cobras are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 2022). Section 2(16) prohibits "capturing, coursing, snaring, trapping, driving or baiting any wild or captive animal and every attempt t...