Scientific Name: Ophiophagus Hannah
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptiles
Order: Squamata
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Ophiophagus
Species: O. hannah
Description: The king cobra may
grow to a length of 16 feet, but on average it is only 13 feet long. It has a
distinctive “hood” on its neck which it spreads when feeling threatened. This hood is black or a dusty olive and usually sports a double chevron marking in cream or yellow. To
blend in with its habitat the cobra’s scales and skin are colored in shades of
olive-green, tan, and black. Its underside is creamy yellow.
Environment: The king cobra
inhabits dense, undisturbed forests and bamboo groves in Southeast
Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The bamboo groves are used to
provide shelter and concealment for the cobra and its eggs. Individuals are
often found by humans in abandoned rural buildings and in forests in the
process of being cleared, which puts both the cobra and the human in danger due
to the snake’s venomous and potentially lethal bite.
Reproduction & Development:
Cobras mate in January and the females lay between forty and fifty eggs
approximately one month later. The eggs will gestate for seventy to
seventy-seven days after they are laid in a nest on the ground. During this
time they are fiercely protected by the mother, although after the eggs hatch
the newborn cobras are left to fend for themselves. After about four years the
cobras are ready to reproduce themselves, and may live to the age of twenty.
Nutrition: King cobras eat snakes
and lizards. After the reptile has succumbed to its venom the cobra dislocates
its jaw and swallows its victim whole. It uses its bite only to kill prey, and
bites other animals only in self-defense.
Fun Fact: The family to which the
king cobra belongs—Elapidae—also includes the equally infamous and venomous
coral snake, death adder, and green mamba.
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