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KingCobra
Length:3 to 4 m in length. (Reaching length of up to 7m)
Weight:About 6 kg.
Colouring:Olive green, yellowish-brown or black and have pale yellow cross bands down the whole body with a cream or pale yellow underbelly.

King Cobra

Ophiophagus Hannah

Description:
The King Cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world, reaching lengths of up to 7m (22 feet). The King Cobra isn’t actually a true Cobra at all, but part of a separate genus. The species that live in the forest tend to be darker in color than those living in grassland environments.  King cobras have a lifespan of about 20 years. King cobras are sexually dimorphic in size, with males reaching larger size than females. Despite their large sizes, typical king cobras are fast and agile. They are listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List and included in Appendix II of CITES.

Did you know...?

… that a bite from a King Cobra could kill an elephant, because King Cobras release quite a lot of highly toxic venom. However, chances are very low that a King Cobra actually kills an elephant, because it would have to bite the elephant where its skin is very thin (e.g. behind the ears, at the end of the trunk).

Diet:
King Cobras are ophiophagus, which literally means “snake­eaters”. Their diet primarily consists of other snakes, but they also feed on eggs, frogs, small mammals and reptiles. They are active both during the day and at night.

Habitat:
King Cobras live in dense highland forests as well as grasslands and prefer areas with lakes and rivers. They are distributed across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the southern area of East Asia, in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Reproduction
Mating season for King Cobras is during January. When there is more than one male interested in a female King Cobra, they will wrestle until a clear winner is found. The strongest male will then seduce the female. Before laying her eggs, the female will create a nest, into which she lays up to 50 eggs. King Cobras are the only snakes that remain with their eggs until they hatch, which might take 60 to 80 days. Until then they defend the nest against any intruders. Newly hatched snakes are 45 to 50cm long and have black and white/yellow stripes. They reach sexual maturity at an age of 5 or 6 years.

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