Animal Series #7; The King Is Here!
Who is the king you asked? Well, this creature doesn't wear a crown or anything, but it is indeed a king. Ophiophagus hannah or commonly known as the king cobra is the longest poisonous snake in the world. The word "Ophiophagus" means snake-eater which is suited for this creature as it specialised in hunting and eating other species of snake; even their own. The most popular kind of snakes which usually become their victims are small phyton, rat snake and cobra. It's worth noting that this king of the snake is immune to other snake's poison. This reptile can be found mostly in South East Asia and India. They are massive in size in comparison to other cobras and the largest king cobra, when threatened, can stand face to face with a 6 feet human. They can grow up to 5.7 metres in length, but most of the king cobra found was 3.6 metres in length.
I've mentioned early in the article that this creature doesn't wear a crown; actually, their head is already a crown. They are usually mixed black-brown, but sometimes, you can find another colour varieties such as green and yellow. Like any other reptiles which have a forked tongue, they smell by detecting chemical particles deposited on the tongue which subsequently will be transferred to a specialised organ located in their mouth called Jacobson's organ. The concept is just the same, the direction of its prey would be determined by the concentration of the chemical deposited on either side of the tongue.
This creature can detect movement from a 100 metres away. This ability coupled with their sensitivity to the vibration produced by the movement of its prey made king cobra one of the scariest hunters during the day; they exhibit a diurnal capacity which means they rarely hunt at night. Before consuming their victim, king cobra will inject a poisonous toxin into its prey through a bit which will render them catatonic. This process is called envenomation. Following the phase, king cobra would swallow its prey slowly with its flexible jaw. This jaw will allow the king cobra to consume a prey which is pretty much larger than its head as the pliable ligament which connects to the jaw bones allow them to move independently. This particular snake has a slow metabolic activity meaning they will be full for months to come.
Contrary to popular belief that "if a king cobra confronts you, your death is certain", this creature usually avoid confrontation, especially with humans. They would attempt to escape, but if they were provoked, that's another story. When threatened, they will produce a loud hissing sound, show their fangs and eventually rear up their body with an extended neck to intimidate its opponent. People usually underestimate the safe zone when they were facing a king cobra. They can strike forward at a long distance which means if you miscalculated, you would be dead sooner than you know it. The story of a king cobra kills someone when confronted is an exaggeration because usually, they are the one who is being executed. If this predator met a mongoose which renders the deadly toxin useless, they would flee instead of fighting. It is said that if you encounter king cobra, remove your shirt, put it on the ground and slowly walk away. They are a king, and they should be treated as such.
The venom which is being used by king cobra contains mostly haditoxin which is an active component which made the poison deadly. If a king cobra bit you, your central nervous system would be paralysed. An array of symptom will then started to show which make it even hard to resist. Unless you have the anti-toxin to neutralise the poison, you will get a few symptoms such as:
- Pain
- Vertigo
- Drowsiness
- Paralysis
- Cardiovascular dysfunction
- Coma and death
The critical period would be 30 minutes, and if the wound is treated late, you will die of respiratory failure. This venom was speculated to have the capabilities to bring down an elephant in a matter of an hour.
The female king cobra (or should I call queen cobra?) is one of the most loving parents in the whole wide world. She will guard the egg meticulously until it hatches. They would protect their youngling from any other predators. When the eggs were starting to hatch, this female king cobra would leave the nest, putting the faith of their youngling on the spirit of the wild. You better not underestimate this small "prince/princess" cobra. They have a potent toxin, which is similar to the adult king cobra which can render you catatonic in seconds.
King cobra has been marked as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to hunters who killed them for its skin, meat and the capacity to use them for traditional medicine.
Reference and further reading material
- Nadia Drake (2018, February 2). National Geographic. Fatal Battle Between King Cobra and Giant Python Ends in Knots. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/king-cobra-reticulated-python-fight-battle-photo-spd/
- Mindy Weisberger (2018, February 2). Live Science. The King (Cobra) Is Dead (and So Is the Python). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.livescience.com/61634-cobra-vs-python-photo.html
- Sharmila & Gowri Shankar(2013, March 22). Gowrishankar's Blog. A Kings Platter. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://pogirigowrishankar.wordpress.com/category/king-cobras/king-cobra-rescues/
- Krishna. Oh, Fact!.15 Interesting Facts About King Cobra. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-king-cobra/
- Encyclopedia Britannica. King cobra. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/animal/king-cobra
- Encyclopedia Britannica. King Cobra: 32 Facts And Tales. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://cobras.org/king-cobra-31-facts/
- Wikipedia. King cobra. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cobra
Being A SteemStem Member