About the King Cobra
The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, capable of reaching 5.5 metres and rearing up to look a grown adult in the eye when threatened. It is not technically a true cobra but belongs to its own genus, Ophiophagus (meaning "snake-eater") — it feeds almost exclusively on other snakes, including other cobras, ratsnakes, and pythons. In India, the king cobra is most strongly associated with the Western Ghats rainforests, where Agumbe in Karnataka — which receives over 7,500 mm of rainfall annually — has become the world's foremost centre of king cobra research.
King cobras are the only snakes in the world known to build nests for their eggs, with females constructing elaborate leaf-pile chambers and guarding them aggressively throughout the 80-day incubation period. They are highly intelligent snakes capable of recognising and avoiding human faces, and they communicate through a distinctive deep growling hiss rather than the typical hiss of most snakes. The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, founded by herpetologist Rom Whitaker, has radio-tracked king cobras across the Western Ghats for over two decades, revealing extraordinary territorial ranges of up to 30 square kilometres.
- Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in Karnataka is the world's best place to learn about king cobras and sometimes to see them in the wild — contact them for guided natural history programmes.
- Northeast India's forests — particularly Namdapha and the Assam rainforests — also have significant king cobra populations. Dawn and dusk drives along forest roads occasionally produce sightings.
- Never approach a king cobra that raises into a threat display — their venom can kill an elephant and they can strike forward with remarkable speed and reach.