King Cobra
Asia
The king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world. When it feels threatened, it spreads its hood and rears up as tall as a person. Surprisingly, it mostly eats other snakes.
Quick facts
- Habitat
- It lives in the forests and bamboo groves of India and Southeast Asia.
- Diet
- It mostly eats other snakes and lizards.
- Size and weight
- Length 3–5.5m, the longest of all venomous snakes.
- Lifespan
- About 20 years
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
- Fun facts
- It's the only snake that builds a nest and guards its eggs!
It can lift a third of its body off the ground.
Learn more
The forest's giant predator that eats snakes — the hidden secrets of the king cobra
The amazing story of the world's longest venomous snake.
- The longest venomous snake — the world's largest venomous snake, reaching 3–5.5m in length.
- Asian forests — it mainly lives in the warm forests and bamboo groves of India and Southeast Asia.
- A separate lineage — it belongs to its own genus, 'Ophiophagus,' entirely distinct from typical cobras.
The true king of snakes
Three reasons behind the name "king cobra."
- An overwhelming size — despite its powerful venom, it boasts a massive body that can grow up to 5.6m.
- A special diet — its scientific name, Ophiophagus, literally means "snake-eater," and it mainly hunts other snakes.
- A threatening defense — when threatened, it can raise a third of its body — as tall as a person — and spread its hood wide.
Not one king, but four
A new scientific finding revealed after 188 years.
- Northern king cobra — found widely across northern India and mainland Southeast Asia.
- Sunda king cobra — found on the Malay Peninsula and various Indonesian islands.
- Western Ghats king cobra — an endemic species isolated to the Western Ghats region of India.
- Luzon king cobra — a special species found only on Luzon Island in the Philippines.
The secret of custom-made venom
Why the king cobra's venom is especially deadly to other snakes.
- An evolutionary arms race — the king cobra evolved its venom to hunt snakes perfectly, more than mammals.
- A special key — its venom is made up of special alpha-neurotoxins carrying a positive charge (+).
- A perfect fit — these toxins fit perfectly only into the "lock" of another snake's neural receptors, which carry a negative charge.
- A missed fit on mammals — this "key" doesn't fit well into the receptors of rats or lizards, making it relatively less lethal to them.
The only architect in the snake world
A warm, surprising twist to a fearsome predator.
- The only nest builder — among all the world's snakes, it's the only one that builds a dedicated nest for its eggs.
- A warm blanket of leaves — it uses its body to gather leaves and plant material, safely covering its eggs.
- Devoted motherhood — it stays coiled around the nest until the eggs hatch, thoroughly protecting its young from fearsome predators.
A gentlemanly duel between kings
A mating competition that never uses deadly venom.
- A fight with rules — when males compete during breeding season, they never bite each other or use their lethal venom.
- A wrestling match of strength — they coil around each other and push, and whoever pins the other's head to the ground first wins.
- A peaceful outcome — the loser quietly retreats, and the fight ends with neither snake seriously injured.