King Cobra

1 Overview

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), also called the king cobra or hamadryad, spits venom when threatened and is extremely toxic – an untreated bite can kill in as fast as 4-6 minutes. Its venom is neurotoxic; without antivenom the bitten surely dies.

SOURCE NOTE: the source gave ‘Royal cobra’ or ‘King cobra’; the correct binomial is Ophiophagus hannah. It is the world’s longest venomous snake.

CONSERVATION / SAFETY NOTE: highly venomous (neurotoxic). This is an education-only profile – never a pet. Distribution: China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam.

2 Appearance

Adults typically 16-18 ft, some 19 ft – the world’s largest venomous snake. Neurotoxic; without treatment a bite is fatal. Adults are olive, brown, black or green with crossband-like black rings; body often with faint yellow or white crossbars or chevrons; belly plain or barred; throat pale yellow or cream. A respiratory passage lets it hiss low like a dog growl. Very fast.

3 Habitat & Environment

Because the venom is so strong, no private keeping. It inhabits dense jungle, farmland, open woodland, bamboo, near farms and dense mangrove wetlands. In China: Hong Kong, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, SW Sichuan, SE Tibet; India (Karnataka, Arunachal, Andaman); Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Borneo, Mentawai, Bali).

4 Diet & Feeding

Because the venom is so strong (neurotoxic) and fatal untreated, no private keeping. It eats mostly other snakes (especially non-venomous rat snakes, dhamans, and pythons under 10 ft). Also drinks milk and eats meat. The world’s largest venomous snake and 7th largest snake overall, behind six python or boa species.