KingKobra

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's largest venomous snake, growing to a length of 18.5 ft (5.7 m), and with a width of up to 1 ft (0.3 m) at the neck.[1] However, as they are not thick-bodied, King Cobras usually do not exceed 44 lb (20 kg) in bodyweight. The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite.[2] The mortality rate can be as high as 75%, but most bites involve nonfatal amounts of venom.

Taxonomy

Although referred to as a cobra, it does not belong to the same genus (Naja) as the so-called "true" cobras. The King Cobra is unique in that it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes, which is reflected in both its common name and its genus name (Ophiophagus is Greek for "snake-eater"), and is even known to attack larger snakes, including pythons.

Description

The King Cobra is pale olive or yellow olive in color with a pale yellow veneer.[1] Individuals from India are crossbanded with yellow and a black posterior, whereas Chinese variants are black-brown crossbanded with pale white or ivory.[1] Male King Cobras tend to be longer and thicker than female King Cobras. Like other snakes bearing the cobra name, the King can also flatten its neck, giving it the distinctive hood.

Habitat

The King Cobra lives in much of mainland South East Asia and throughout the dense highland forest ranging from Northern India to Southeastern China through the Malay peninsula to western Indonesia and the Philippines.[1][5] The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams, and is an excellent swimmer. King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES.[6]