Most Deadly Snake King Cobra

The King Cobra

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah) Is The World's Longest Venomous Snake, With A Length Up To 18.5 To 18.8 Ft (5.6 To 5.7 M). This Species, Which Preys Chiefly On Other Snakes, Is Found Predominantly In Forests From India Through Southeast Asia. Despite The Word "Cobra" In Its Name, This Snake Is Not A Member Of Naja ("True Cobras") But Belongs To Its Own Genus. The King Cobra Is Considered To Be A Very Dangerous Snake. It Has Cultural Significance As Well.

Description

The King Cobra Averages At 3 To 4 M (9.8 To 13 Ft) In Length And Typically Weighs About 6 Kg (13 Lb). The Longest Known Specimen Was Kept Captive At The London Zoo, And Grew To Around 18.5 To 18.8 Ft (5.6 To 5.7 M) Before Being Euthanised Upon The Outbreak Of World War Ii. The Heaviest Wild Specimen Was Caught At Royal Island Club In Singapore In 1951, Which Weighed 12 Kilograms (26 Lb) And Measured 4.8 M (16 Ft), Though An Even Heavier Captive Specimen Was Kept At New York Zoological Park And Was Measured As 12.7 Kilograms (28 Lb) At 4.4 M (14 Ft) Long In 1972. The Length And Mass Of The Snakes Highly Depend On Their Localities And Some Other Factors. Despite Their Large Sizes, Typical King Cobras Are Fast And Agile.

Scalation Of The King Cobra

The Skin Of This Snake Is Either Olive-Green, Tan, Or Black, And It Has Faint, Pale Yellow Cross Bands Down The Length Of The Body. The Belly Is Cream Or Pale Yellow, And The Scales Are Smooth. Juveniles Are Shiny Black With Narrow Yellow Bands (Can Be Mistaken For A Banded Krait, But Readily Identified With Its Expandable Hood). The Head Of A 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. The Average Lifespan Of A Wild King Cobra Is About 20 Years.

The Dorsal Scales Along The Centre Of The King Cobra's Body Have 15 Rows. Males Have 235 To 250 Ventral Scales, While Females Have 239 To 265. The Subcaudal Scales Are Single Or Paired In Each Row, Numbering 83 To 96 In Males And 77 To 98 In Females.

Venom

      The Venom Of The King Cobra Consists Primarily Of Neurotoxins, But It Also Contains Cardiotoxic And Some Other Compounds. Similar To Other Venomous Creatures, Toxic Constituents Inside The Venom Are Mainly Proteins And Polypeptides.

King Cobra Skull, Lateral View, Showing Fangs

          Like Other Venomous Snakes, Ld50 Values Of The King Cobra Venom Depend On The Injection And Research Methods; Typical Values Are 1.7 Mg/Kg For Subcutaneous Injection, 1.31 Mg/Kg For Intravenous Injection And 1.644 Mg/Kg For Intraperitoneal Injection. The Mean Value Of Subcutaneous Ld50 Of Five Wild-Caught King Cobras In Southeast Asia Was Determined As 1.93 Mg/Kg In Another Study. The Book "Snake Of Medical Importance" (1990) Gives 0.34 Mg/Kg Of Intramuscular Injection For The Specimens Found In China. Besides, The Toxicity May Vary Among Individuals Coming From Different Geographical Localities.

This Species Is Fully Capable Of Delivering A Fatal Bite And The Victim May Receive A Large Quantity Of Venom With A Dose Anywhere From 200–500 Mg  Or Even Up To 7 Ml. Engelmann And Obst (1981) List The Average Venom Yield At 420 Mg (Dry Weight). Accordingly, Large Quantities Of Antivenom May Be Needed To Reverse The Progression Of Symptoms Developed If Bitten By A King Cobra.

During A Bite, Venom Is Forced Through The Snake's 1.25 To 1.5 Cm (0.49 To 0.59 In) Fangs Into The Wound, And The Toxins Begin To Attack The Victim's Central Nervous System. Symptoms May Include Severe Pain, Blurred Vision, Vertigo, Drowsiness, And Paralysis. Envenomation Progresses To Cardiovascular Collapse, And The Victim Falls Into A Coma. Death Soon Follows Due To Respiratory Failure. Moreover, Envenomation From King Cobras Is Clinically Known To Cause Renal Failure As Observed From Some Snakebite Precedents Of This Species.

The Mortality Rate And Death Time Resulting From A Bite Can Vary Sharply With Many Factors, Including The Quantity Of Venom Involved, The Site Of The Bite And The Health State Of The Victim. Data Provided By Different Sources, Which May Be Recorded In Different Regions, Could Also Have A Significant Difference. For Example, While A Website Mentions That Many Bites From King Cobras Involved Non-Fatal Amounts Of Venom,[26] Another Report Of Clinical Statistics Released By The South Indian Hospital Reveals That Two-Thirds Of The Bitten Patients Actually Received Severe Bites From This Species. According To The University Of Adelaide Department Of Toxicology, An Untreated Bite Has A Mortality Rate Of 50–60%. Bites From A King Cobra May Result In A Rapid Fatality Which Can Be As Early As 30 Minutes After Envenomation.

There Are Two Types Of Antivenom 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, While Available To Order, Are Not Widely Stocked. Ohanin, A Protein Component Of The Venom, Causes Hypolocomotion And Hyperalgesia In Mammals. Other Components Have Cardiotoxic, Cytotoxic And Neurotoxic Effects. In Thailand, A Concoction Of Alcohol And The Ground Root Of Turmeric Is Ingested, Which Has Been Clinically Shown To Create A Strong Resilience Against The Venom Of The King Cobra, And Other Snakes With Neurotoxic Venom.

The Haditoxin In The King Cobra Venom Was Discovered By Singaporean Scientists To Be Structurally Unique And Can Have Unique Pharmacological Properties. Biochemical Studies Confirmed It Existed As A Noncovalent Dimer Species In Solution. Its Structural Similarity To Short-Chain Α-Neurotoxins And Κ-Neurotoxins Notwithstanding, Haditoxin Exhibited Unique Blockade Of Α7-Nachrs (Ic50 180 Nm), Which Is Recognized By Neither Short-Chain Α-Neurotoxins Nor Κ-Neurotoxins. 

Cultural Significance 

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.

In The Indian Subcontinent, The King Cobra Is Believed To Possess Exceptional Memory. According To A Myth, The Picture Of The Killer Of A King Cobra Stays In The Eyes Of The Snake, Which Is Later Picked Up By The Partner And Is Used To Hunt Down The Killer For Revenge. To Prove This Theory, A King Cobra Was Captured And Left Free In An Enclosure That Had Small Openings. Several People Stood In Front Of The Openings, But The Snake Rose To Its Full Height And Locked Eyes Only With The Captor. Because Of This Myth, Whenever A Cobra Is Killed, Especially In India, The Head Is Either Crushed Or Burned To Damage The Eyes Completely.