A cobra’s unexpected appearance inside the Speaker’s Office this week has triggered renewed scrutiny over long-standing lapses in ecological planning and biosecurity at Sri Lanka’s most important administrative complex, with experts warning that the incident is “a symptom of a larger, predictable problem.”
While initial reports simply described a cobra swimming across the Diyawanna and climbing the outer walls to reach the second-floor office, environmental specialists and senior government sources told The Island that the incident highlights years of inadequate risk assessments relating to the Parliament’s unique placement in the heart of a wetland ecosystem.
Parliament sits on a carefully landscaped island surrounded by marshes, mangroves, and the Beddegana Wetland Reserve — a biodiverse habitat teeming with reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds. “This is not an intrusion. This is the natural behaviour of wildlife on whose habitat Parliament was built in,” a senior wetland ecologist said, noting that species such as cobras often follow prey, seek shelter, or explore territory boundaries.
Security and landscaping personnel managed to capture the snake safely, after which it was transported in a Navy craft and released back into the wetland reserve. No injuries were reported.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa brought the matter to the floor of the House yesterday, calling the incident “a near-disaster that must not be dismissed as a minor curiosity.”
“A cobra entered the Speaker’s Office. If it had bitten the Speaker, the consequences would have been catastrophic,” he said, pressing the administration to review safety protocols, emergency response systems, and medical readiness within the complex.
He also questioned whether anti-venom was readily available at the Parliament medical unit — a concern that has surfaced repeatedly during previous wildlife-related incidents in the premises.
However, an authority on the subject confirmed to The Island that anti-venom supplies are available countrywide and that the essential stock remains accessible for Parliament when needed.
Environmental planners say the incident must be understood within the broader context of how the legislative complex interacts with its surrounding ecosystems. As urban development has intensified around Diyawanna, wetlands have come under pressure, pushing wildlife into more concentrated pockets — including the managed landscapes of Parliament.
“Parliament sits in the middle of a functioning ecosystem, not on a sealed administrative island,” an official involved in past Diyawanna ecological assessments told The Island. “If landscaping teams maintain lush undergrowth, open water channels, and rockeries for aesthetic purposes, snakes will inevitably use them as pathways.”
The cobra’s ability to scale the building walls, experts say, reflects not just the behaviour of snakes but also design features that provide easy climbing surfaces.
Environmental groups are now calling for a comprehensive ecological risk audit of the Parliament premises, covering landscaping practices, building access points, emergency response protocols, and the impact of human disturbance on surrounding habitats.
“The solution is not to wage war on wildlife,” a conservation biologist cautioned. “It is to redesign maintenance systems and adopt ecological barriers that protect both people and animals.”
For decades, the Diyawanna Parliament has been celebrated as an architectural masterpiece perched elegantly on water. But this incident, officials say, is a reminder that its beauty also comes with responsibility.
As one senior administrator noted, “You cannot build Parliament in a wetland and then be shocked when the wetland comes to Parliament.”
The Speaker’s Office has not commented publicly on the incident, but internal discussions are underway regarding enhanced security sweeps and consultation with wildlife experts.
For now, the cobra has returned home — but the questions it raised remain very much alive.
By Ifham Nizam