Just a thought of a huge venomous snake can give you thrills, and if you face something like that in real world, you would undoubtedly pick a different way.
Its true that movies and fiction have always exaggerated snakes, but there exist some snakes that meet all the requirement to be called as the dangerous and the deadliest. And King Cobra tops that.
Connection between snakes and India
Well, the world’s longest venomous snake King Cobra is found in India in abundance (including some Southeast Asian countries). Its one of the deadliest snakes on earth.
Snakes are also treated as religious symbols in Hinduism. Cobra is special among Hindus as it can be seen coiled around the neck of Hindu god Shiva in the religious depictions. King Cobra, being little different, lies in the same class as Indian Cobra do.
King Cobra: Aesthetics
The terrifying fact is that a King Cobra can measure up to 19 ft. or 5.5 meters in length. It can inject greater amount of venom into prey’s body than any other snake. It has 11 large chevron scales on the crown of its head, for which it is called the King. Their coloring varies greatly from region to region.
King cobras are shy. They rarely attack humans, but one bite contains enough venom to bring down 20 humans or an elephant. All of its capabilities and aesthetics make this snake more dangerous and deadly.
Where King Cobras can be seen?
King cobras live mainly in the rain forests and plains of southeast Asia, generally in India and southern China. Cobras are comfortable on land as well as in water, and they feed mainly on other venomous-nonvenomous snakes, lizards, eggs, and other small mammals.
Biggest King Cobras on earth
Bill Haast, the great snake venom specialist, claimed the encounter with a 35-feet long King Cobra in 1960s. There have been many such talks about several feet long Cobras, but world do not considers those claims as facts due to the lack photographs and other important information.
Still, here is a photo gallery of some known biggest, longest King Cobras ever found on Earth, most the pics below are from Southeast India.
Approx 17 ft., Kerala (India)
A huge King Cobra found somewhere in Kerala [2012] Approx. 15 ft., Karnataka (India)
Joy Mascarenhas, a Herpetologist from Mangalore with a monster King Cobra, his 50th catch at Indabettu, Beltangady (Karnataka) [June 2012] 14.2 ft., Thailand
Snake catchers with a great Cobra somewhere in Thailand [2008] 14 ft., India
Norman and Ray Hunter holding a 14′ King Cobra during Nat Geo shoot [Date not known] 13.6 ft., Wt. Bengal (India)
A Snake catcher with a giant Cobra somewhere in Wt. Bengal [2009] [citation required] 12 ft., Somewhere in SE Asia
“Cobraman” Ray Hunter, a well-known Herpetologist with a 12′ Cobra somewhere in Southeast Asia [2005-2006] 11.4 ft., India
South African Snakemaster & Herpetologist Austin Stevens with a monster King Cobra 10.3 ft., Kerala (India)
Vava Suresh, an expert snake catcher from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, with his catch in Kulathupuzha forest [September 2010] Approx. 10 ft., India (East)
A huge King Cobra discovered in a coffee estate (image credits: Sunil Sachi and Arkive) [Unknown date] 9.2 ft., Goa
Animal rescue squad member Amrut S. Singh handling a King Cobra rescued inside the bathroom at a resident in Tambdi Surla, Sanguem, Goa [2010]
So, those were some really fearsome snakes, but if you keep the fear aside, you can observe the beauty that god has provided to this creature. Make sure to be on the safer side when around snakes, and always consider not to kill animals for fun, feast or revenge. You must call a Snake catcher in extreme conditions.
Wrapping it up, there are many huge Cobra snakes that Herpetologist, specialists, and catchers have found so far in the same category, but we are not available with the photographs of those.
If you have a photo of a great King Cobra, please share it with us along with the information including its length, location, and date when photographed. We will publish it right here with proper credits.
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