King Cobra

King cobras mainly eat cold-blooded animals, especially other snakes. They usually prey on larger, nonvenomous snakes like Asian rat snakes, indigo snakes, and even pythons. However, they will eat venomous snakes like Indian cobras, kraits, and even smaller king cobras on occasion.

At the Zoo, the king cobra eats rodents.

Its native range includes northern India, southern China, and the Malay Peninsula, extending east to western Indonesia and the Philippines.

King cobras like to live in thick forests, open woodlands, bamboo thickets, nearby farms, and dense mangrove swamps. They are usually found near streams where the temperature and humidity remain stable.

Predators of king cobras include mongooses, large birds of prey, and other king cobras. Civets, giant centipedes, and army ants also prey on baby cobras.

This species is threatened by habitat loss caused by logging and agricultural development, as Southeast Asia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the tropics. Additionally, king cobras are often hunted for their skin, as food, to keep as pets, and for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Being the largest venomous snake in the world, they are often targeted and killed by humans who fear them.

A fully grown king cobra can be yellow, green, brown, or black, and usually has yellowish or white bands along its back. Its belly can be a solid color or have darker bands, while its throat is often light yellow or cream-colored. Young king cobras are mostly jet-black with yellow or white bands on their bodies and tails, and they have four similar markings on their heads. When threatened, a king cobra can flatten the ribs in its neck to form a hood. These snakes can raise the front part of their body about three to four feet off the ground and can follow the threat in this position over long distances. They will also take on this upright posture without the hood extended to see over bushes or tall grasses. King cobras have better eyesight than many other snakes. They can spot a moving person from several hundred feet away.

The king cobra has fangs that are nearly half an inch long. When it bites, the snake delivers venom from glands connected to the fangs. A small muscle pushes the venom through the hollow fangs into its prey. Within minutes, the venom's neurotoxins can stun the victim's nervous system, especially affecting their ability to breathe. Other toxins in the venom start breaking down the paralyzed prey. The fangs also help guide the prey toward the snake’s stomach.

The female cobra lays a group, or clutch, of 20 to 50 eggs, usually between April and June. She depsoits them in a nest of twigs, leaves, and other plants. The nest has two parts: a lower chamber where the eggs are placed, and an upper chamber where the female stays to protect the eggs from predators and damage. This type of nest is unique among snakes.

The eggs are warmed by the heat from the rotting plants around them and take about 60 to 90 days to hatch. Right before the eggs hatch, the female leaves the nest and does not take care of the young. When they hatch, the baby cobras are about 13 inches long. Each cobra egg has a large yolk, some of which turns into a yolk sac in the baby snake's stomach. This sac provides food for about two weeks if the baby cobra has trouble finding its first meal. Young cobras already have venom as toxic as adult cobras.

A cobra's hiss is lower than most snakes and sounds more like a dog's growl. This noise is made through small openings in its trachea and is amplified by its lungs. Male king cobras will wrestle each other to show dominance. The first cobra to push its opponent's head to the ground is usually the "winner."

King cobras are mostly active during the day, while other species of cobras are often more active in the evening. Even though king cobras are very dangerous, they usually prefer to escape rather than fight. They have a reputation for being aggressive, but they are actually more cautious than many smaller snakes. King cobras will only attack people if they feel trapped, need to defend themselves, or are protecting their eggs.