Officer had to face a cobra, puff adder and rattlesnake for his Indiana job training

Angry Asian cobras are an official part of job training for wildlife officers in Indiana.

And that’s just the beginning.

Conservation officers must also face off with African Gaboon vipers, African puff adders, copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes as part of an extreme training exercise involving the world’s most venomous snakes.

The law enforcement arm of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources shared photos of one officer’s training on Facebook Jan. 25, showing he faced the venomous reptiles as they were poised to strike.

“Indiana Conservation Officer Dustin Cary attends training twice a year to keep his skills sharp as the District 5 venomous reptile handler,” the Indiana DNR Law Enforcement wrote.

“Dustin maintains proficiency using tools to safely capture and move these dangerous critters comfortably. All snakes utilized in training still possess their fangs and venom sacks. Thank you ICO Cary for stepping up to do a job many would not!”

The Facebook post had 3,000 reactions and nearly 700 comments as of the morning of Jan. 27, many from people who said no amount of pay would be worth that kind of training.

Others began listing all the dangerous jobs they’d rather do than deal with venomous snakes.

“Yeah no thanks, I’d rather defuse IEDs (improvised explosive devices) with a blindfold,” one commenter wrote on Facebook.

“I’d rather have a pipe bomb taped to my inner thigh with a 10 second timer,” another posted.

Venomous cobras, puff adders and Gaboon vipers are not native to the United States, but encounters can happen when dangerous pets escape enclosures into homes and yards.

That happened in Raleigh, North Carolina, last year, when a venomous zebra cobra went missing from a home and stayed on the loose for seven months, according to the Raleigh News and Observer. The snake was eventually recaptured and the owner faced misdemeanor charges.

Copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes are native to the United States.

This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 6:34 AM with the headline "Officer had to face a cobra, puff adder and rattlesnake for his Indiana job training."