King Cobra news and escape story

King Cobra placed on Red List by IUCN http://bitly.com/N5Q9Pb

My close call w/an escaped K Cobra http://bitly.com/JueBLx

"The King Cobra is found in densely forested areas of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and the Andaman Islands."
And in my back yard. Why is there a picture of a Krait accompanying the Close Call page?

Hello,

I believe it is a king cobra, but when I enlarge it the details blir and I cannot see the head scales clearly, which would help. I'll ask the people who manage the photos on my blog to send me details re it's origin. Best, Frank

My mistake. I forgot kings take on those circular (annular?) stripes. They only seem to look like that in captivity. Out in the sun a lot in the wild they usually are a uniform single color with a lighter belly.

Hi,

Thanks for the note. A colleague of mine who studied them in several countries reports observing many variations, and he can sometimes hazard a guess as to locale when checking young specimens that lack collection data (zoos, museums). I've seen captives fade as well, others not. The Myanmar population generally retains the distinctive bands throughout life. Please see here for some info/references re coloration across their amazingly large range: http://reptile-database.reptarium.c...cies=hannah&search_param=((taxon='Elapidae'))

Best, Frank

Around here, northern Thailand, most of Hannah I've seen are a uniform brown to light bronze gold. Occasionally I can distinguish the bands but they are always just barely noticeable. I read that they get lighter in color as the weather gets hotter to regulate body temperature. The only time I've seen them dusty brown black is in captivity where they rarely get sunlight.
Then there are the people who claim I am mistaking them for some other snake. Welllll over 10 foot we gots Hannah or python. Period. Even I can sort that.

Hi,

Thanks for the info...great to have first hand accounts from Thailand. Many animals of all types are capable of subtle color changes in order to absorb or deflect heat. I try to keep up with professional herp journals, but have not seen anything on this topic regarding snakes. If you have a reference or any more info, please send when you have a chance (difficult to keep track of everything, I know!). Sometimes a shift in color change is evolves over time, in response to temperature. For example, Gray Squirrels, found throughout most of the eastern USA, are light gray in the south, and darker in the north. There are also many populations of purely black individuals ranging from about NYC (many on grounds of Bx Zoo) into Canada. Theory is that they are better able to absorb heat, esp. during the winter (they remain active on most winter days).

Well, lots to learn....

Do you ever run across Ptyas mucosus? They range into Thailand, I believe, but I'm not sure where in the country they occur. I've seen a few, in zoos, that just topped 2 meters, and there are old field reports of individuals measuring 3.2 meters. Impressive snakes, often aggressive but likely on the King Cobra's menu.....

Stay well, Frank

Sorry about the crappy shot here. This is pretty typical of the O. Hannah coloration in our area. The color is a very uniform tan but with this juvenile, only about 6 foot, it does have a slight mottling of darker area. I saw a couple of them crossing roads that were living in the rice fields in the middle of summer, full 12 to 15 foot adults, that were a bright golden color.


Heres another. Very typical uniform color. Young adult of about 8 foot.


We're up to our eyeballs in rat snakes here. They have adapted quite well to living in the storm drains in the city. Here's my favorite. A monster of over 6 foot, getting warmed up on an ATM next to my other's restaurant. Notice, this trucker is so old it's black mottling has faded out somewhat. You get a good comparison between the very smooth scales of the ratter with the heavy coarse ones of the king, easily visible at 15 foot away. I would add, the kings are FAST! Getting shots of them in the wild is a beetch. I clocked one the other day zooming along a dry canal next to our jeep. A steady 12 mph!.

Thank you very much! Shots of wild individuals always a pleasure to see; never hesitate due to quality. If you have a chance to post this note with the photo links on my blog, in comment section of this article, http://bitly.com/JueBLx, my readers and I would be most appreciative. Best, Frank

Wow, interesting.

The Snark said:

I clocked one the other day zooming along a dry canal next to our jeep. A steady 12 mph!.

Click to expand...

Note ^ - To those that would like to try their hand at keeping these in captivity..........Lol...............and what of rapid bursts of speed!?

I still think it might be a fairly do-able challenge! (-;

T

Terry D said:

Note ^ - To those that would like to try their hand at keeping these in captivity..........Lol...............and what of rapid bursts of speed!?

I still think it might be a fairly do-able challenge! (-;

T

Click to expand...

Note from one who has kept them in zoos - don't try this at home! One of the few species that we manage with shift cages, rather than moving animal via hooks as with all others (except mambas). As mentioned above, too fast to avoid close at hand, and they have an incredible "mammal-like" alertness and ability to, for lack of a better word, "plan" their next move; really something! best, Frank

I hadn't really thought about kings and their awareness but yups, they are different. On many occasions when I've seen them cross roads when they don't just blitz from the undergrowth, they pause at the verge then zoom. (The opposite end of the spectrum would be the krait. I can't count the number of times I've stopped and blocked a road to nudge those lala land kids off the road) As for burst of speed, and I am talking about a 15 foot plus adult here, wifey was looking at me when I saw a king poke it's nose out of a rice field. It started across the road and I almost yelled "Look!". She turned her head to look in front and all she saw was the tip of it's tail vanish. I measured the road at 15 feet across and it's tail was just clearing one side as it's nose entered the other side. So how fast? I'd say that zoom was about par with an Olympic runner on the 50 yard dash take off.

Then another time one offered a comedy. It was coiled on the verge with a couple feet upraised and hood open, watching cars go past. It was actually watching traffic! I glanced in the mirrors and it decided too much traffic and melted back into a rice field. Smart critter.

Addendum. Up at the snake farm they have this guy. Some incident happened a few years ago and since that time nobody has ever opened the main door to his cage. We are talking experienced snake handlers that regularly put on shows kissing kaouthais and all that crap. They installed a door in the roof and use long handled poles for cleaning and so forth. From what I have been able to put together, the key to his cages padlock was lost almost 10 years ago.
While he just wanders his cage laconically, I've not seen him wham a chunky toad a couple of times. He watches it then a blur and it's in his mouth. Darned amazing for a monster that size. (As best I can guesstimate, he's 26 feet.) Findi, you've got to have nerves of steel or a couple of loose bolts to moonch around with these guys.

Great stuff, thanks very much. Of the hundreds of species I've worked with, king cobras stood out in the ways you mention. All snakes learn that an opening door means food, but kings would rear right up and look through the sliding glass peephole we had in all the doors, so that we could see where snakes were before opening. Sometimes they would have their head at the peep hole before it was opened, perhaps responding to footsteps (although it was a concrete-brick building, 100 yrs old and sturdy as a castle! I met legendary herpetologist Rhom Whittaker years ago (even hunted snakes with him!)just before he went off to study their nesting behav in N. India (disturbing females to observe their reactions..hmmm) Need to see how that went..

Would love details on that large individual if ever possible..I believe the published maximum length is just over 18 feet, so would be great to learn of a record breaker.

Best, Frank

I'm wrong. Other informs me 'Grandpa' was 26 foot, the big python, and this guy at 22. I've read the 18 foot record and a 21 foot. I helped measure one in India (they killed) that was almost 19 foot. (225 cm). So they can toss the 18 foot record... unless the rope we ran down it's length and later measured didn't meet proper scientific measurement standards. I've measured this guys shed at 14 inch circumference. That's almost python dimensions.

Now that I think about it more, it's strange. The kaouthai act normal, only taking minimal interest in their surroundings. The Siamensis tend to be explorers. But the kings seem to be observers, always intently keeping track of their surroundings.

Have you noticed, they always seem to be holding their head up? I wonder what, if any, difference there is in their senses.

Hi, Thanks for the update; it takes quite a bit of confirmation etc. to get a snake measurement published as accurate. When I worked with green anacondas in Venezuela, we eventually decided on taking 3 measurements of each snake (via string) and then averaging them. There seems a great ability to contract/expand muscles (likely due to the number of muscles along ribs) - so much so that measurements change significantly form one moment to the next. A number of the 500+ individuals that we recaptures where heavier but shorter than when measured first time around! (Largest we found measured 17+ feet, 215 lbs, 24 inch circumference; a slightly smaller individual regurgitated a 60 lb white-tailed deer; co-workers have sent photos of larger individuals from Guyana, in riverine habitats, but these are hard to get close to. I worked in the llanos, where, in the dry season, they are quite easy to capture). Best, Frank

Not cm! Inches!
I imagine with those sophisticated muscles a snake has they can expand or contract a considerable amount. I recall holding a rattler once very tight and without it curving, coiling, it was able to draw my hands together a good inch. Holding behind the head and a few inches up from the rattles, a 2 1/2 footer.
215 lbs is a chunky snake.

Okay, this is one you can relate to. The two brothers, expert snake handlers both, talked me into stepping into this enclosure to get some pics. What you don't see is them on either side of me with hooks at the ready and a guy behind me holding my belt, ready to jerk me out of the pen should 'Mom' or 'Dad' make a sudden move. How this for dumb?

Yes, inches...surprising! Great photo, thanks...but in that race I'd bet on the cobra over the guy holding your belt! I've been up close to an escaped Kodiak bear, and others, and in an exhibit with Gomek, the world's largest captive croc at the time (1,700 lbs), armed with just a "croc pole" (a stick); but cobras are something else all together. I remember seeing old photos of rattlesnake strikes as a kid, with time sequence spelled out - stuck in my head (maybe saved mu life a time or 2?!); well, we all walk that thin line, enjoy but be careful. If you ever have a chance to post on any of my blog articles, esp with any of your photos, that would be great. A company sponsors it, so I need to urge readers to be careful, not work with venomous species outside zoos, but your photos, experience would be very interesting to all, I'm sure, ths, best, Frank