The guard, already exhibiting a swollen hand from the bite, was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town for treatment.
Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation in Patong were called to collect the snake, along with well-known local snake handler Vincent “Vinnie” Modell, known online as ’Snake Guy in Phuket’.
The cobra, placed inside a black trash bag and a plastic container, was returned to Patong where its welfare was checked.
Mr Modell explained that the snake, estimated to be 3.5 to 4 metres long and weighing 4.9 kilogrammes, was extremely defensive when removed from the bag.
“King cobras normally don’t instantly open their mouths to bite, they usually give fake strikes first. This one was highly agitated. In the three to five minutes it was being checked and bagged it attempted more than seven bites on me,” he said.
Mr Modell added that he expected the guard to recover from the bite. “I would expect a full recovery,” he said.
He also stressed that handling snakes is dangerous and should be left to professionals.
“Please be careful when trying to catch snakes. It can go very quickly wrong,” he warned.