The King Cobras- Recent News and Facts

The king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world. Some new and interesting facts have emerged about the habits and life of the king cobra. These results were obtained after two king cobras were implanted with radio transmitters to study their behaviour. Some interesting and new facts about the king cobra have emerged.

Terrestrial snakes very rarely hunt in water. The king cobra was observed to hold another snake under water to drown it. This behaviour was observed several times, indicating that this was not a one off occurrence. Another observation was about the mating behaviour of the king cobra. The male king cobra picked up the scent left by the female king cobra and travelled nearly seven kilo meters to locate her. In this process, he also left his territorial area. The king cobra took nearly five days to achieve it.

Also the king cobra was observed to build a nest nearly two feet in height. The snake, contrary to earlier theories, was observed to be diurnal. In fact, their movement was seen more during the daytime. The king cobra was believed to inhabit areas deep inside the jungles. But, the present studies showed that the king cobra is also visiting human inhabited areas, in pursuit of snakes. More interestingly, the king cobra was also shown to be an occasional scavenger, capable of eating snakes already dead. The king cobras are vital elements of the ecosystem, keeping the population of the venomous snakes under control.