King cobra
The king cobra is a large venomous snake of tropical Asia. It is the world's longest venomous snake, and it mostly eats other snakes. It is widely spread across its range, but people do not often see it.1
🔍 How to recognise it
- Adults are olive green with black and white bands across the trunk that run towards the head.1
- The head has 15 drab-coloured shields that are edged in black.1
- The hood is oval, with two black spots between the two lowest scales.1
- Juveniles are black with chevron-shaped white, yellow or buff bars that point towards the head.1
- The tail is yellowish green and marked with black.1
Often confused with: The text says that, despite its common name and some resemblance, it is not a true cobra in terms of its genus. The text does not describe other specific animals it is confused with.1
Venom power
Venom comes out through its fangs or teeth when it bites.
What does its venom do?
The venom is neurotoxic, which means it attacks the nerves, and cytotoxic, which means it damages cells. The text says a bite can cause rapid onset of these symptoms. The cobra can strike at a considerable range and height, and it has an immense venom yield.1
How dangerous is it to people?
Danger to people: DeadlyOne of the most dangerous animals in the world.The text says the king cobra is not considered aggressive and usually avoids humans. Attacks usually happen when an individual is cornered or accidentally exposes itself, or when people come close by chance. The text does not give bite or death numbers.1
💉 Good news: doctors have a medicine (antivenom) or a treatment for this.1
What does it do when it is scared?
When threatened, it spreads its neck flap, raises its head, hisses or growls loudly, and sometimes charges.1
🚑 If it bites or stings
- The text says that after envenomation, prompt antivenom administration is required. This means getting to medical care quickly. The text does not describe other first aid steps.1
- Keep the person still and calm, remove rings and tight things, and get to a hospital fast: antivenom is the treatment.
- If venom was spat into the eyes, rinse them with lots of clean water straight away.
Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics
⛑️ Stay safe
- Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
- Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
- If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.
It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe
Where in the world?
How big is it?
How long is it?
How heavy is it?
as long as 6 dogs nose to tail🍌as long as 32 bananas end to end🏃could cover 100 metres in 36 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)How big is King cobra compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Facts
Its growl is much lower than most snakes' hisses, with a dominant frequency near 600 Hz, which is closer to a human voice.1
It can swallow prey much larger than its head because of its flexible jaws.1
It is considered the national reptile of India and has an important place in the mythology and folk traditions of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.1
It is dominant over all other snakes except large pythons.1
It can go many months without another meal after a large meal because its metabolism is slow.1
Its common name 'hamadryad' is still used in older books.1
Myth buster
Myth: King cobras are aggressive and attack people on sight.
Truth: The text says the king cobra is not considered aggressive and usually avoids humans. It defends its eggs fiercely and may strike if it is cornered or accidentally exposed.1
For venom experts
- Scientific name
- Ophiophagus hannah
- Group
- Cobras, mambas & kraits
- Also called
- Northern King Cobra, Hamadryad, tu mama e maraka1
- Family
- Elapidae2
- Order
- Squamata
- Continents
- Asia
- Babies
- It lays eggs. The female builds a nest of dry leaf litter and guards the eggs through the incubation period. The text does not say how many eggs are laid.1
- How it is doing in the wild
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List, since 2010)1
- Danger to people
- 5 / 5: Deadly3
Where the facts come from
- King cobra (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Ophiophagus hannah (iNaturalist): names and classification.
- Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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