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Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) …. a presentation.
By : Gowri Shankar,
Agumbe Rainforest Research StationBlog:
http://pogirigowrishankar.wordpress.com/Website: www.agumberainforest.com
© Gowri Shankar
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Classification
Cantor, 1836 Class : ReptiliaOrder : SquamataFamily : ElapidaeGenus : OphiophagusSpecies : hannah
KING COBRA (Ophiophagus hannah)
© Gowri Shankar
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
KING COBRA (Ophiophagus hannah) from the Western Ghats
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
DistributionSouth and
Southeast AsiaNepal
Bhutan BangladeshMyanmarThailand
KampucheaLaos
VietnamMalaysiaSouthern ChinaIndonesia
Philippines
Source: Wikipedia
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Size: Grows up to 15 feet and weighs ~ 6-8Kg.”
Colour: Black, olive brown or olive green with
yellow or off-white stripes.
Food: Other snakes and occasionally monitor
lizards.
Breeding Season: February to March
Reproduction: Males perform a combat
then mate with a female.
Nesting: Females build a nest and lay eggs
(nos. 20-50) which hatch in 90-113 days.
Habitat: Heavy rainfall areas, Tropical
moist forests, bamboo thickets.
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
King cobra feeding on rat
snake
Cannibalism: King cobra feeding on
another king cobra
Feeding: King cobras primarily feed on other snakes, including their own kind and occasionally monitor lizards.
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Male Combat: Typically two males engage in a fight called combat to mate with a female or for
territory.
Courtship: is characterised by the male moving over the female with constant head butting, tongueflicking and tail twisting. The female displays submissive behaviour by spreading her hood flat, close to the ground.
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Nest: Female builds a nest with leaf litter and lays an average clutch of 20 to 50 eggs
Hatchlings emerge after 85 to 113 days and remain close to the nest surviving on remnants of yolk till their first shedding. On an average they weigh ~20gm and measure ~50cm in length
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Status of King Cobra
• King Cobra is a threatened species
• It is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of India,1972
• It is marked under schedule II
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
King Cobra Research @ ARRS
• Radio telemetry• Breeding biology• Home range• Sexual
dimorphism• Morphology
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
Acknowledgement
• Karnataka State Forest Department.
• Romulus Whitaker• Prashanth• Sharmila• ARRS staff and
Volunteers
Gowri Shankar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. 2010
THANK YOU
Please contact us for any queries and would appreciate if you can share any reports about king cobras in your area:
Agumbe Rainforest Research StationSuralihalla, Agumbe, Thirthahalli Taluk
Shimoga District-577411 Karnataka
Phone No: 08181-292081
Website: www.agumberainforest.com
Email Id: [email protected]
