King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah
Vulnerable
Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India
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.
They 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
The King Cobra is the serpentine king of the jungle in #SEAsia, vulnerable on @IUCNredlist due to #deforestation for #palmoil and other crops. You can save them when you #Boycott4Wildlife
Tweet
This species is threatened by destruction of habitat due to logging and agricultural expansion, 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 Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Myanmar, both for domestic purposes and for export to China.
Speed Sketch a King Cobra with Christine Elder
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
Contribute in four ways
- Creatives: Promote your creative business and use your creative expertise to raise awareness and join the fight to save endangered species. Join us!
- Conservationists: Showcase your conservation work and activism, blog about the urgent issues that are vital right now. Find out more!
- Animal lovers: Big supermarket brands are directly contributing to this species’ extinction by destroying forests. You can join the #Boycott4Wildlife by sharing information from this website and boycotting brands in the supermarket.
- Activists in the UK, sign this petition: Prohibit the sale and use in the UK of palm oil and its derivatives in foods. Sign now!
Palm Oil Detectives 