For the nest, the female scrapes up leaves and other debris into a mound and stays in the nest until the young hatch. She guards the mound tenaciously, rearing up into a threat display if any large animal gets too close.
When the eggs start to hatch, the female leaves the nest. The baby King cobra's venom is as potent as that of the adults.
They may be brightly marked, but these colors often fade as they mature. They are alert and nervous, being highly aggressive if disturbed.
King cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range because of the destruction of forests and ongoing collection for the international pet trade. These snakes also suffer from harvesting for meat, skin, and use in traditional medicine. King Cobra Hamadryad. Ophiophagus hannah. Population size. Life Span. Photos with King Cobra. Geography Continents. Biome Montane grasslands and shrublands. Tropical savanna. Tropical moist forests. Climate zones Tropical. Habits and Lifestyle King cobras are solitary creatures and only come together to mate.
Group name. Terrestrial, Precocial. Seasonal behavior. Not a migrant. Diet and Nutrition King cobras are carnivores and their diet consists primarily of other snakes and even other venomous snakes such as various members of the true cobras and the krait.
Diet Carnivore. Population Trend. Vulnerable VU. Population Population threats King cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range because of the destruction of forests and ongoing collection for the international pet trade. After a large meal, King cobras live for many months without another one because of their slow metabolic rate. Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big.
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See More. United States Change. Often, cobras must be bred in captivity or captured when they are very young. Elephants are far too large for this snake to eat.
For the most part, this snake preys on other snakes that are under ten feet long. Smaller snakes have to eat smaller prey animals — while larger snakes may eat animals that are slightly longer than this. King Cobras typically live on a diet primarily consisting of other snakes. However, occasionally they may eat mammals. Elephants are not included in this, though. They can only consume rather small mammals.
Think of things like mice and rats — not elephants. This misconception probably comes from the fact that an adult King Cobra can kill an elephant in a few hours, thanks to its highly toxic venom. Instead, the venom is essentially a defensive mechanism. They have enough venom to kill creatures much larger than them. If a python disturbs the nest of a female or corners a cobra, they may lash out and bite.
However, it is unlikely that most King Cobras could eat adult pythons. Cobras may be able to eat baby and juvenile pythons, as they are much smaller. There is also the chance that abnormally larger King Cobras may occasionally eat Pythons. They mainly prey on other snakes, after all. If a Python is small enough to eat, nothing is keeping a King Cobra from attacking one. Whatever they can find. King Cobras are entirely opportunistic when they are young, allowing them to learn to hunt nearly any other snake species.
However, in the wild, their diet is usually confined to a few other species they commonly encounter. One study has found that they can hunt pit vipers by following their odor trails. Some may directly hunt and chase these snakes, especially if they are common in their particular range. Not all cobras do this, though, so it appears to be a learned behavior for the most part.
Cobras usually use their venom to bring down their prey. Then, they can eat the prey without risking injury themselves.
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