Wild Forever Foundation

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m (18.5 ft).This species is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India, and is found mostly in forested areas. The king cobra is fierce, agile, and can deliver a large quantity of highly potent venom in a single bite. It is one of the most dangerous and feared Asiatic snakes.

Characteristics

he skin of this snake is either olive-green, tan, or black, and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. The belly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. Juveniles are shiny black with narrow yellow bands (can be mistaken for a banded krait, but readily identified with its expanded hood). The head of a mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. The male is larger and thicker than the female. The average lifespan of a king cobra is about 20 years.

Identification

The king cobra is the sole member of genus Ophiophagus, while most other cobras are members of the genus Naja. They can be identified from other cobras by size and hood marks. King cobras are larger than other cobras, and the stripe on the neck is like the symbol "^" instead of a double or single eye(s) shape that may be seen in most of the other cobras.

Scalation

Dorsal scales: midbody 15 rows; Ventral scales: Males 235-250, females 239-265; Tail: Subcaudal scales single or paired in each row, 83-96 in males and 77-98 in females.

Habitat

The king cobra is distributed across South and Southeast Asia, but is not common. It lives in dense highland forests, preferring areas dotted with lakes and streams. King cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range because of 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.

Behavior

King cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (“smell”) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobson's organ) located in the roof of its mouth.When the scent of a meal is detected, the snake flicks its tongue to gauge the prey's location (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it also uses its keen eyesight (king cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m [300 feet] away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey.Following envenomation, the king cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim.^[1] King cobras, like all snakes, have flexible jaws. The jaw bones are connected by pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently. ^[1] Like all snakes, the king cobra swallows its prey whole. The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head.^[1]

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.^[1]^[8]

Defense

The king cobra is a fierce and highly aggressive snake.^[9] When threatened, it raises up the anterior portion of its body, flattening the neck, showing the fangs and hissing loudly. It is easily irritated by closely approaching objects or sudden movements. The king cobra attacks quickly, and the strike distance is about 7 feet; people can easily misjudge the safe distance. The king cobra may deliver multiple bites in a single attack, or bite and hold on.^[10] Although it is undoubtedly a very dangerous snake, it prefers to escape unless it is cornered or provoked. ^[9]

If a king cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins,^[11] the snake generally tries to flee. If unable to do so, it forms the distinctive cobra hood and emits a hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since it is more dangerous than other mongoose prey, as well as being much too large for the small mammal to kill with ease.

Bioacoustic analysis of the "growl" of the king cobra has shown that it differs significantly from other snakes. Generally a typical snake hiss has a broad-frequency span (~3,000 to 13,000 Hz) with a dominant frequency near 7,500 Hz whereas the "growl" of the king cobra consists of frequencies below 2,500 Hz, with a dominant frequency near 600 Hz.

Diet

King cobra's genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means "snake-eater", and its diet consists primarily of other snakes, including rat snakes, sizeable pythons and even other venomous snakes (including kraits, cobras and smaller members of its own species).^[8]^[13] When food is scarce, they may also feed on other small vertebrates, such as lizards, birds, and rodents. In some cases, the cobra may “constrict” its prey, like birds and larger rodents, using its muscular body, though this is uncommon.^[1]^[13] After a large meal, the snake may live for many months without another one because of its slow metabolic rate.^[1] The king cobra's most common meal is the ratsnake; this leads them near human settlements

Venom

The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, but also contains cardiotoxic compounds.^[8] It is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides. During a bite, venom is forced through the snake's half-inch (1.25 cm) fangs and into the wound, and quickly attacks the victim's central nervous system, and induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis.^[14] Envenomation progresses to cardiovascular collapse, and the victim falls into a coma. Death soon follows due to respiratory failure.

In the past, the LD50 of its venom was treated as 1.6 mg/kg-1.8 mg/kg (which is one of the least toxic elapids). However, a recent toxicology study shows that the LD50 of Chinese King Cobra venom is 0.34 mg/kg.^[15] This proves the King Cobra can actually be more venomous than most of the other species with its range, like the Chinese Cobra.^[16] The King Cobra is also capable of delivering larger quantities of venom than most other venomous snakes, injecting a 380-600 mg dose in a single bite. This quantity is enough to kill 20-40 grown men or even an adult elephant. One bite can cause the death of a healthy adult human within 15 minutes,^[15] but death usually occurs between 30-45 minutes.^[14]^[16]^[17] The mortality rate from a bite can be over 75%,^[8]^[18] or only 33%, depending upon treatment details. It is regarded as one of the deadliest snakes in the world.^[16]^[19]

There are two types of antivenom made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other; however, both are made in small quantities and are not widely available.^[20] Ohanin, a protein component of the venom, causes hypolocomotion and hyperalgesia in mammals.^[21] Other components have cardiotoxic,^[22] cytotoxic and neurotoxic effects.^[23]

Many believe only animals are endangered. They think wild plants can just grow back after damage. Our native plants are declining at an alarming rate. Among them are some of the most beautiful and useful species on Earth. The implications of this trend are stunning. The importance of plants to life on Earth is immeasurable. The landscape and wildlife we cherish, the food we eat, even the very air we breathe is connected to plant life.

Plants support wildlife. For every plant species that goes extinct, up to 30 other species of plants, insects and other animals may also decline. Plants provide the food and habitat for wildlife, from birds and butterflies, to antelope and field mice!

Plants support a healthy environment. They provide clean air, help hold soil in place, clean water, moderate wind and water impacts, and shade the earth.

Plants support people. Plants give many gifts to man. They provide food, fiber, fuels, pharmaceuticals, ornamentals and fragrance. Many of our native plants are known to contain chemicals that can be used to treat human illnesses. Others have the ability to fight agricultural pests and improve existing crops. Even more economic and scientific treasures await discovery. Each species is a potential natural resource.

This is a real crisis. Habitat destruction, invasive foreign plants and animals, over collection, and other environmental damage are eroding our natural plant communities. Some species have declined to such small numbers that a bad storm or a plant collector could wipe them out in minutes. Without intervention they will be lost forever.

The vegetation of India comprises some 15,000 species of plants. The jungles are thick and wooded with the flora to back up the fabulous fauna. Evergreen forests in the north-east and along the Western Ghats, moist and dry deciduous forests of the plains, swampy marshes of Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, pinewoods of the Himalayan foothills and the lagoons and estuaries down south - each pave for a different ecosystem, sheltering unique forms of plant and animal life.