King cobras of Western ghats.....

The largest venomous snake in the world...de King Cobra (Ophiphagus hannah) share a unique habitat with many other fauna & flora.my search for the wilderness started from de Love of Snakes........

King cobras live mainly in the rain forests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia. Their coloration vary greatly from region to region. 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. Male King Cobras tend to be longer and thicker than female King Cobras.

King cobras are comfortable in the trees, on land, and in water, feeding mainly on other snakes, venomous and nonvenomous. They will also eat lizards, eggs, and small mammals.

King cobras can reach 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes (de specimen in Trichur Zoo was reportedly the largest). When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. Flaring out their beautiful longitudinal hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.

King cobras are the only snakes in the world that build nests for their eggs, which they guard until the hatchlings emerge. The nest is builtout of chiefly, bamboo leaves n they carry the leaves with their body n a superb manner and rearranges them on the area,mostly n bamboo or reed belt. The wholeprocess is truley an artistic way which makes them unique. Though there are reports that they are too angry and ferocious,in my experience they're one of de best snakes in the world,who can understand the intentions of the visitor or intruder. During my research on the breeding habits of king cobras, they were too "coperative" and never tried to show off....





King cobras may be best known as the species of choice for the snake charmers of South Asia. Although cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient noises, sensing ground vibrations instead. The charmer's flute entices the cobra by its shape and movement, not by the music it emits.

King cobra venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite, seven milliliters is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. But they rarely bites!! At the first instance, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible. Then they prefer pristine forested areas which is not frequented by man. But they are fiercely aggressive when cornered and may even chase for sometime. There are no reported King bites from India. A reason for unavailability of antivenin specific to king cobras in India.