In the remnants of India’s once-vast rainforests, which stretch across south and central India and to the island nation of Sri Lanka off India’s southern tip, giant hornbills flock to fig trees, gulping down the sweet fruit with their huge, banana-shaped bills. Nearby, lion-tailed macaques, nilgiri langurs, and other primates find their own meal amidst the lush trees, which are fuelled by the annual monsoon storms that can bring 30 feet of rain or more. On the forest floor, elephants pick their way through the tree trunks, careful not to step on a resting king cobra: a single bite from the venomous snake could kill a baby elephant. A fate of a different kind awaits many of the forest’s insects: death at the end of a chameleon’s long, sticky tongue. LAND OF THE TIGER provides viewers with an intimate portrait of all of these forest inhabitants and more, including the remarkable flying lizard, which can glide hundreds of feet from treetop perches to the ground. It also highlights the extraordinary relationship between fig trees and wasps, which depend on each other for their survival. Each of the 900 kinds of fig has its own species of pollinating wasp, which live inside the fruit and carry pollen from tree to tree. Indeed, the fig is so important to life in these forests that people have forged a special bond with some especially large figs trees, worshipping under their outstretched branches.

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

In the remnants of India’s once-vast rainforests, which stretch across south and central India and to the island nation of Sri Lanka off India’s southern tip, giant hornbills flock to fig trees, gulping down the sweet fruit with their huge, banana-shaped bills. Nearby, lion-tailed macaques, nilgiri langurs, and other primates find their own meal amidst the lush trees, which are fuelled by the annual monsoon storms that can bring 30 feet of rain or more. On the forest floor, elephants pick their way through the tree trunks, careful not to step on a resting king cobra: a single bite from the venomous snake could kill a baby elephant. A fate of a different kind awaits many of the forest’s insects: death at the end of a chameleon’s long, sticky tongue. LAND OF THE TIGER provides viewers with an intimate portrait of all of these forest inhabitants and more, including the remarkable flying lizard, which can glide hundreds of feet from treetop perches to the ground. It also highlights the extraordinary relationship between fig trees and wasps, which depend on each other for their survival. Each of the 900 kinds of fig has its own species of pollinating wasp, which live inside the fruit and carry pollen from tree to tree. Indeed, the fig is so important to life in these forests that people have forged a special bond with some especially large figs trees, worshipping under their outstretched branches.

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

In the remnants of India’s once-vast rainforests, which stretch across south and central India and to the island nation of Sri Lanka off India’s southern tip, giant hornbills flock to fig trees, gulping down the sweet fruit with their huge, banana-shaped bills. Nearby, lion-tailed macaques, nilgiri langurs, and other primates find their own meal amidst the lush trees, which are fuelled by the annual monsoon storms that can bring 30 feet of rain or more. On the forest floor, elephants pick their way through the tree trunks, careful not to step on a resting king cobra: a single bite from the venomous snake could kill a baby elephant. A fate of a different kind awaits many of the forest’s insects: death at the end of a chameleon’s long, sticky tongue. LAND OF THE TIGER provides viewers with an intimate portrait of all of these forest inhabitants and more, including the remarkable flying lizard, which can glide hundreds of feet from treetop perches to the ground. It also highlights the extraordinary relationship between fig trees and wasps, which depend on each other for their survival. Each of the 900 kinds of fig has its own species of pollinating wasp, which live inside the fruit and carry pollen from tree to tree. Indeed, the fig is so important to life in these forests that people have forged a special bond with some especially large figs trees, worshipping under their outstretched branches.

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

Fort Worth Zoo opened its new exhibit called Mola on March 6th,2010. Mola stands for Museum of Living Art. This video shows a few of the many wonderful reptiles and amphibians in the exhibit. Some of the cast in the video are: King cobra,komodo dragon,beaded lizard, jackson chameleon, indigo snake,tree monitor, gaboon viper, beautiful viper,chinese giant salamander. Many others I dont remember the names of, plus many I didnt get any good pictures of. Please rate and subscribe to help me out.

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

the big size around 7′ x 2″ OD size snake the king Cobra came in the police station kapurbhawadi Thane Maharashtra India

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

King Cobra killing Rat Snake: Live Rat Snake was fed to King Cobra at Mysore Zoo, Karnataka, India. This video was shot on 28th March, 2010. babushekarp@gmail.com

{The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the worlds longest venomous snake, growing to a length of 560cm (16-17 ft) and a weight of up to 6 kg (20 lbs). | This species is quite widespread, ranging throughout south-eastern Asia and into India. | Its genus name, Ophiophagus, literally means snake-eater, and its diet primarily consists of other snakes, including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species. | The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic, and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite. | The mortality rate can be as high as 75%; but most bites actually involve non-fatal amounts of venom. | The King Cobra is a large, powerfully-built snake, averaging 3-4 m (12-13 feet) in length typically weighing about 6 kg (13 lb). | The record-sized wild cobra was shot in the Nakhon Sritamart Mountains of south Thailand and was 560cm (18-19 ft). | An even larger cobra was kept captive at the London Zoo and grew to 570 cm (18-19 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II The skin is either olive-green, tan, or black and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. | The underbelly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. | The head of mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items. | It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles. | The male is larger and thicker than the female. | Widespread, but not common, across South and South-east Asia, It lives in dense highlands forest. | The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams. | King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests, but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct. | It is however listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES. | King Cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information (smell) via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobsons Organ) located in the roof of its mouth. | When the scent of a potential meal has been detected, the snake will continue to flick its tongue to gauge the preys direction (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it will also rely on its keen eyesight (King Cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m away), intelligence and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey. | Following envenomation, the King Cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey whole while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. | King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws. | Instead, the jaw bones are connected by extremely pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently of each other. | Like other snakes, the King Cobra does not chew its food, instead swallowing its prey whole. | The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head. |King Cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species. |The King Cobras diet is mainly composed of other snakes (ophiophagy): both non-venomous snakes such as pythons and venomous snakes including kraits and Indian Cobras. | When food is scarce, King Cobras may also feed on other small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and rodents. | After a large meal the snake may live for many months without another one due to its slow metabolic rate. | If a King Cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has some resistance to the neurotoxins, the cobra will generally try to flee. | If all else fails, it will flatten its upper body by spreading its ribs, forming the distinctive cobra hood about its neck, and emit a high-pitched hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. | These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since the cobra is indeed far more dangerous than other potential prey. | Like all species of snakes, King Cobras shed their skin, typically four to six times per year as adults and every month as juveniles. | To get the skin to start to peel, the King Cobra will rub its snout against rough surfaces to encourage the shedding process. | King Cobras venom, which is composed mostly of proteins and polypeptides, is produced in specialized salivary glands (as is the case with all venomous reptiles) just behind the animals eyes. | When biting its prey, venom is forced through the snakes half-inch (8-10 mm) fangs and into the wound. | Although the venom is less toxic than that of some other venomous snakes, including the Indian Cobra, a King Cobra is capable of injecting more venom than most other serpents due to its large size. | A single bite from a King Cobra can deliver enough venom to kill a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. |The King Cobras venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victims central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. | In the minutes following, cardiovascular collapse occurs, and the victim falls into a coma. | Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. | There are two types of antivenin made specifically to treat King Cobra envenomations. | The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other, however both are made in small quantities, and are not widely available. |Despite the King Cobras fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible. | There are other venomous snakes within this species range, in fact, that are responsible for more fatal snake bites than the King Cobra, such as the Monocled Cobra, Russells Viper and Banded Krait. |In Burma, King Cobras are often used by female snake charmers. | The charmer is usually tattooed with three pictograms using an ink mixed with snake venom; superstition holds that it protects the charmer from the snake. | The charmer kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the show. |The mating season is January. | Male King Cobras will physically confront each other they will wrestle while constantly trying to stay upright. | The snake which manages to keep the others head down is the victor in this ritual combat. | The purpose of the contest is to establish dominance in mating or territorial rights. | King Cobras mate annually. | The male snake seduces a female by sliding his body about over her, eventually tempting her into copulation. |Prior to laying, the female uses her coils to gather material together such as branches, dead leaves and similar vegetation, and are the only snakes known to construct an actual nest for their eggs. | This can result in a simple clump or an elaborate two tiered construct where the female lays up to 50 eggs in the lower compartment and coils atop them in the upper chamber. | The female then remains atop the nest throughout the 60-80 day incubation period, while the male remains in the vicinity until the hatchlings emerge. | Neonates are 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) long and banded in black and white. |The King Cobra belongs to the family Elapidae. | There are over 200 species of elapid found around the world, excepting Antarctica and Europe. | All are venomous and have short, fixed fangs (proteroglyphs), but may differ widely in habits, behaviour and appearance. | Four better known species of the Elapidae are the Coral Snake, Death Adder, Black Mamba, and of course, the King Cobra. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||}

Snake Charmer gets a bite in the head!This was filmed, during my vacation to Thailand 2003.

Death soon follows due to respiratory failure.

Full show can be seen at ITV local.com / central / documentaries – Safari Park episode 8, Mark is in episode 7 as well, with his own King Cobra. World Reknowned TV Presenter and Herpetologist catches a Zebra Spitting Cobra and could have been blinded. Mark was doing research at Ongava Reserve in Namibia and being filmed finding snakes for an ITV Central/Animal Planet Documentary “Safari Park” about the West Midland Safari Park. This is an unedited preview clip. The spitter could have blinded Mark if he hadn’t got his sunglasses on to protect his eyes, it showered him with venom as Mark wrestled with it in his grab stick.

King Cobras, as with all other snakes, do not have rigidly fixed jaws.

King cobras are snake eaters. Finding a specimen that feeds on anything other than snakes is a difficult task; however, we managed to find just such an animal. His exhibit has been open to the public since December 15th and he’s adjusted well. Our primary concern was with stress levels associated with being on display. Now that we have fed him a few times late in the evening when the zoo is quiet, we are ready to add our king cobra to the regular feeding rotation. He is fed Saturdays at 11:45 PM. Watch this week’s video and get an idea of what to expect.

King Cobra outside my house in Thailand. Big Mistake! Do not tease the cobra! Think it’s SMALL?? Think again!