The King is at a Risk

This blog is about a snake which is one of the most feared snakes for people who lack knowledge about it as it is rightly said that lack of knowledge creates fear, but it is also one of the most loved and respected snake for whom who understand its aura and its true behavior. It’s none other than the most intelligent snake on the planet called The King Cobra. But unfortunately due to lack of knowledge and unending avarice, the King has been put to risk.

About King Cobras

King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a venomous snake from the Elapidae family of snakes. King Cobra is the only snake to make a nest on the forest floor of up to 2 feet high. It is also the longest venomous snake on the planet and can reach up to 18 feet. The average lifespan of a King Cobra in the wild is 20 years. It possesses a potent neurotoxic venom capable of killing 20 people or even an elephant with a single bite. When bitten by the King Cobra a person can die within 30 minutes of envenomation if antivenom is not given on time. The neurotoxic venom is a highly potent and fast acting venom that directly affects the central nervous system of a human body. It affects the receptors of the nerve cells by binding itself on it which starts from the brain and through electrical impulses send signals to all other parts of the body.

It affects the synapse function of the nerve cells (The distance between two nerve cells is known as a Synapse. For an electrical impulse to pass, a chemical is realized at the synapse by the nerve ending. The electrical impulse then passes on from this chemical to the other nerve cell and the process continues till the electrical impulse reaches its destination). Due to the neurotoxic venom a nerve cell is not able to send signals or electrical impulses to the other nerve cell thus a human being starts losing consciousness. The early symptom is when the victim is tasting copper or something very saline on the tongue and the tongue begins to get heavier. This is a sign of the beginning of paralysis. Then the diaphragm of the victim collapses and he suffocates to death. The neurotoxic venom also causes immense pain and drowsiness to the victim. Even though its venom is not the most potent one but the huge amount of venom of up to 400 – 600 mg makes its bite a dangerous one.

Very few people are aware of the fact that King Cobra is the national reptile of India. King Cobra is the only snake to growl like a dog. It is produced by tiny holes in the trachea and is resonated by the lung. Another mind boggling fact about King Cobras is that they are not even true Cobras as they belong to a genus of their own which is Ophiophagus and not to the genus Naja which is the true genus of a Cobra. In reality the largest true Cobra is the Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca) which can reach up to a length of 10 feet. In the wild King Cobras feed upon lizards, birds and their eggs, small mammals and even other snakes as King Cobras are cannibalistic.

Threats to King Cobras

Today King Cobras are listed as vulnerable to extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. As King Cobra is an apex predator, the only species posing a threat to the King are Homo sapiens. Habitat destruction for timber, urbanization, agriculture, etc. myths and traditions, over exploitation for “medicinal purposes” and indiscriminate poaching of King Cobras for skin and meat are the major threats to King Cobras.

In Southeast Asia, King Cobra is threatened foremost by habitat destruction and deforestation for expansion of agricultural land. Wildlife experts explained that habitat loss forces the snake to find shelter in human settlements which increases the chances of human-animal conflict. Contrary to the beliefs that King Cobra is an aggressive snake, in reality King Cobras are shy and like any other snake try to get away from any human interaction. They would never pass a human territory if they had the option to but habitat loss is forcing them.

Sometimes poachers set traps to ruthlessly kill them for their skin, meat or to make Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) which does not have any scientific base to it. King Cobras hold a mythological significance in parts of South East Asia especially in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Back in the days when Snake Charming was a big thing, King Cobras were recklessly hunted from the wild for some bogus shows where the snake charmers used to play an instrument known as a Pungi to show how the snake danced to the tune. But what people were and even today are not aware is that snakes do not have ears like us, snakes do not have external ear, middle ear or tympanic membrane (ear drum), instead they use small ossicle (ear bone) called the columella, to conduct vibrations of sound waves conducted through the ground to find their prey. They are able to pick up some soundwaves conducted through the air, but only at a very low frequency. Cobras in general are very focused on the movements around them and in reality they are not dancing to the beats of the pungi but they are actually just focusing on the movement of the Pungi.

Fortunately snake charming was banned in 1972 with the introduction of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Today King Cobras are placed under Schedule II of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and killing a King Cobra is punished with imprisonment of up to six years.

Organizations like the King Cobra Conservancy, Kalinga Centre for Rainforest Ecology (KCRE) and Madras Crocodile Bank are working day and night for the conservation of King Cobras by organizing various researches, tracking programs and educational programs to teach the locals and people around the globe about conservation of this apex predator and its habitats.

King Cobra play a significant role in the ecosystem by eating other venomous and non-venomous snakes thus keeping a balance so that the numbers of other snakes are kept under control along with small mammals like rats that can disrupt a farmers hard work and it’s ludicrous that we consider them a vicious killing machine whereas they are just playing their part.

Here our part is to conserve them and not exploit them for our needs. Its understandable that every organism has certain needs and so do we, but it shouldn’t cost an animal its life. Why do animals have to make all the compromises? Will we only talk about co-exitence, or will it ever happen? Humans lack any sort of natural defence mechanism like sharp claws or venom but we have the most developed brain, so lets put it to use. I hope this blog proves helpful to you, if I have been able to change the perspective of even a single one then that’s a win for me and that is my bit of contribution to educate you all and conserve our wildlife.