King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah

King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Locations: Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India

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Known as the serpentine king of the jungle in South East Asia, and inspiration for the villain Kaa in the Jungle Book, the King Cobra lives in many different environments, including pristine forests, degraded forests, mangroves, swamps and woodlands of #Thailand, #Cambodia, #Malaysia, #Laos, #Vietnam, #Bangladesh and #India. Their main threat is human-wildlife conflict and ongoing persecution. Palm oil deforestation and other agricultural expansion is also a big threat throughout their range. The world’s largest venomous #snake has a neurotoxic bite powerful enough to kill twenty people or an adult elephant. Sadly, these majestic creatures are persecuted for this reason and do not have adequate protection. Help them every time you shop and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

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The King Cobra lives in a variety of habitats, primarily in pristine forests, but they can also be found in degraded forest, mangrove swamps and even agricultural areas with remnants of woodland.

Threats

This species is threatened by destruction of habitat due to logging and agricultural expansion for palm oil, as Southeast Asia is experiencing one of the highest rates of deforestation in the tropics (Sodhi et al. 2009) and this species appears to be most abundant in forested habitats. This species is harvested for skin, food, and especially medicinal purposes in China. They are heavily harvested for the medicinal trade in many parts of their range, particularly Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Myanmar, both for domestic purposes and for export to China.

These snakes have also been found swimming in rivers in non-forested land and probably occurs in palm oil plantations (R. Inger pers. comm. 2010), however it is not yet clear whether oil palm plantations can support viable populations of this species (M. Auliya pers. Comm. 2011). This species is threatened by destruction of habitat due to logging and agricultural expansion

Further Information

Stuart, B., Wogan, G., Grismer, L., Auliya, M., Inger, R.F., Lilley, R., Chan-Ard, T., Thy, N., Nguyen, T.Q., Srinivasulu, C. & Jelić, D. 2012. Ophiophagus hannah. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T177540A1491874. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T177540A1491874.en. Downloaded on 16 February 2021.

King Cobra: Round Glass Sustain

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