The king cobra’s long scientific name, Ophiophagus, means “snake eater.” It is a perfect name because the king cobra eats mostly cold-blooded animals, especially other snakes. The king cobra can track down its prey with its sense of smell, but also has excellent eyesight and can see a possible meal up to a football field away. When the cobra strikes, its venom paralyzes its prey and the cobra begins to swallow its victim whole. If a cobra eats a large animal, it can go without eating again for months.

When a king cobra feels threatened, it stretches the rib bones around its neck to form a hood. This hood, and the large eye-shaped markings on the back of it, makes the cobra seem like a much bigger animal to possible predators. The snake can also raise up to a third of its total body length off the ground and continue to move. This means a king cobra that is eighteen feet long can look an adult man straight in the eye. That should be enough of a warning to stay away!

The king cobra’s venom is not the deadliest in the world, but it injects a large amount of venom with each bite. This amount is enough to kill an elephant or twenty people. Surprisingly, the king cobra still has predators. Both a mongoose and birds of prey are quick enough to kill a cobra before it can strike. Humans are the cobra’s other major predator. Though cobras tend to stay away from people if possible, it is still man’s first instinct to kill them because they can be deadly.