Do Cobras Climb Trees?

King Cobra (raj gokhra) The longest poisonous snake of the world, Ophiophagus hannah. Its length may extend up to 5.5 m. The hood is smaller than the cobra (Naja species) but it can be raised to the height of a man. Adults are blackish to pale brown with faint bands over their heads and necks while the juveniles are colourfully banded. It is common in the sundarbans but rare in the forests of Sylhet and Chittagong.

The King Cobra or Hamadryad is mostly diurnal and adept in climbing, swimming and rapid movement over the ground. Its generic name Ophiophagus is related to its habit of eating both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes.

It provides the best egg-care amongst snakes. Mates form a pair bond. After mating, a female builds a two-storey nest by gathering debris and leaves from the forest floor by making a loop of her body around a bunch of leaves and heaping these by repeated leaf-gathering sessions. She also makes a depression at the centre of the nest. This is followed by laying of up to 3 dozen eggs. The nest is then covered by additional supply of debris.

Afterwards, she sits tight over the roof of the nest up to the time the babies hatch in 70 days or so. During this period she does not go for hunting. Although there is no 'incubation' by her, the temperature released by the debris warms up the eggs. In each strike a Hamadryad is known to release over 200 mg (dry weight) neurotoxic venom. Only 16 mg of this venom is enough to kill an average person of 60 kg in weight.