The combination of immense body size and plentiful, potent venom makes the king cobra a formidable hunter, and helps defend itself ably when threatened.
1) The king cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world, growing to a length of almost 5 meters
2) Preys on other snakes – even highly venomous species – subduing them with its highly potent venom and swallowing them whole.
3) In order to display a menacing threatening ‘look’, the king cobra rears its head of the ground and spreads out its neck into a ‘hood’. This action deters intruders and predators.
4) The cat-sized Indian mongoose can survive a dose of king cobra venom that would kill eight rabbits.
5) Snake-charmers usually perform with the Asian cobra, rather than the king cobra, because of the Asian cobra’s smaller size and broader, more impressive hood. The Asian cobra is also more common.
6) The king cobra can dislocate its jaw to engulf large prey. The venom glands like behind the eyes.
7) The fangs are hollow, and grow to a length of 1.25cm. The snake punches them into its prey using them similar to hypodermic needles an injects its powerful venom.
8′) The skin is olive-green, tan or black, with faint, pale yellow crossbands down the entire length of the body. The underbelly is cream or pale yellow.
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9) To detect prey the king cobra flicks out its tongue to collect scents from the air. Inside the mouth, the tongue passes over the Jacobson’s organ – a receptor with which the snake analyzes scents.
10) Method of hunting:
* Flicking its tongue in and out to collect scent samples from the air, a king cobra detects a python nearby. It then tracks the prey by sight.
* Slipping silently through the grass, the cobra approaches its prey undetected. It coils its forequarters in preparation for a rapid strike.
* In a single smooth action, the cobra whips its head forward and bites into the python’s neck, sinking its fangs through the skin to inject venom.
* When the venom has paralyzed the python, the cobra dislocates its jaws and ‘walks’ over the victim, consuming it whole.
Marie Milton
Published November 11, 2010
http://scienceray.com/biology/facts-about-king-cobra/
