“The king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world”
King cobras live in parts of southeast Asia, southern China, and India. Their habitat includes forests, bamboo thickets, streams, and swamps. These snakes live in a warm, humid climate.
They spend most of their time in trees blending into the dense, leaf-filled branches. They sometimes hang down from a tree branch to capture another snake. Other times king cobras come down from the trees to hunt for prey on the forest floor. They may travel to nearby streams to look for food. These reptiles can swim fairly well and have been seen moving along through the water.
When the weather cools off in late fall and winter, king cobras migrate to dens to stay warm. They come back out in the springtime.
King cobras measure an average of 11 to 13 feet long. They live in southern China, India, and southeastern Asia. Their habitat includes streams, forests, bamboo thickets and swamps. This snake is a carnivore eating other snakes, birds, and lizards. King cobras live about 20 years in the wild.
Incredible King Cobra Facts
Number one
It’s the only snake that builds a nest for its eggs
Number two
They have enough venom in their bite to kill an elephant
Number three
This reptile raises the top third of its body and expands its hood when it feels endangered
Number Four
Humans are the only predators of adult King Cobras (mongooses prey on juvenile snakes)
Number Five
King cobras are the largest venomous snake. The largest king cobra ever measured nearly 19 feet and lived at the London Zoo during World War 2!
King Cobra Appearance
A king cobra is an animal with a smooth body that is covered in yellow, brown, green, and black scales. It has a chevron pattern of color running down the back of its neck. Some king cobras are leucistic. A leucistic king cobra is missing some most of its coloration and looks white. It’s not an albino because it has blue eyes as opposed to pink ones. A leucistic king cobra has all the qualities of a king cobra with the exception of its black, green, brown, and yellow scales.
This snake can measure 12 to 18 feet long. As an example, an 18-foot-long king cobra is equal in length to 2/3 of a London bus! Compare this to the forest cobra that grows to be just 10 feet long. No wonder the king cobra is known as the longest venomous snake in the world.
The king cobra weighs between 11 and 20lbs. A 20lb king cobra is equal in weight to two gallons of paint. The heaviest king cobra lived in the New York Zoological Park and weighed just under 28lbs. Male king cobras grow to be a little bigger than females.
Now lets see about King Cobra Behavior
Though this snake has a reputation for being aggressive, it actually has a shy nature. It would rather steer clear of people and other animals, if possible. It’s considered a solitary reptile. However, when they are seen together during breeding season the group is called a quiver.
This reptile’s dark brown, green, and black scales allow it to blend in with its environment. However, when it feels threatened by an animal or human, it will expand its hood and raise the top half of its body off the ground. This is so it can move freely and meet the eye of whatever is threatening it. Also, this snake shows its fangs and hisses at the threat. Some people say that a king cobra’s hiss sounds a lot like a dog’s growl.
The defensive stance of a king cobra is a big part of the reason why they are considered to be aggressive reptiles. It’s enough to scare smaller animals away! However, these reptiles are simply defending themselves from threats.
The venom of a king cobra is not particularly strong. But the amount of venom it can inject in a person or animal in one bite is enough to kill an elephant or 20 people. The venom causes respiratory distress and cardiac failure. This would definitely qualify as a defensive feature of this snake!
What do king cobras eat ?
What do king cobras eat? King cobras are carnivores eating birds, lizards, and other snakes. When those are scarce, these snakes will eat small rodents. If a king cobra eats a large amount of prey at one time, it may not eat again for a few months.
This snake has excellent eyesight. It can sometimes spot prey while resting on a high branch in a tree. Like other snakes, it also has an impressive sense of smell.
King cobras are fast and move quickly to strike their prey without having to hold it in place like other cobras.
Predators and Threats for King cobra
s sometimes set traps for these snakes and kill them for their skin, to make medicine or even to eat. Some of these reptiles are sold illegally as exotic pets.
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