The King Cobra ( Ophiophagus Hannah )
is the world's longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 18.5 ft ( 5.7 m )
and a weight of up to 20 lbs ( 9 kg ).
Male King Cobras tend to be longer and thicker than female
King Cobras. Sometimes the King Cobra is pale olive or yellow olive in color
with a pale yellow veneer. Individuals from India are crossbanded with yellow
and a black posterior, whereas Chinese variants are black-brown crossbanded
with pale white or ivory.
The King Cobra has a preference for living in areas dotted
with lakes and streams. The King Cobra lives in much of mainland Southeast Asia
and throughout the dense highland forest ranging from Northern India to
Southeastern China through the Malay Peninsula to westernIndonesia, The King Cobra's diet is mainly composed of other snakes ( ophiophagy ), both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. When food is scarce, King Cobras may feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, its prey is swallowed whole. Unhinging the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than their head. King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species.
Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough edges to start the shedding process.
The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite.
If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. If all else fails, it will flatten its upper ribs forming the prototypical cobra hood about its neck and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the king cobra is far more dangerous than other potential targets, such as smaller animals including smaller snakes.
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