Wild Facts

Photograph by Mattias Klum

This week has been flying by! I can’t believe the weekend is just around the corner.  I hope everyone has everything they need for Valentines day (Guys… Valentines day is on Sunday!).  If not then I suggest taking some time tomorrow to make sure your better half has a great Valentines Day.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like trying to figure out which animal best represents Valentines Day so I decided to do a fact about the King Cobra.  I suppose some people would say that a deadly snake sums up this romantic holiday just perfect!  The King Cobra is the longest, venomous snake and can get as a long as 5.5 m (or 18 feet for my American friends).   This is one snake that you do not want to startle or corner.  When threatened the King Cobra will raise up to one third of its length (for the record that would be about 6′).  I couldn’t even imagine the fear that would strike me seeing a snake stand up and look me in the eyes.  That fear would probably triple when I hear the snake hissing, which sounds similar to a growling dog. That fear would then quadruple when I realize that it is a king cobra, which can produce enough venom in a single bite to kill 20 people! You read that right!  Their venom isn’t necessarily the strongest but it is the quantity that they are able to produce. Luckily, the king cobra is a shy animal and tends to avoid contact with humans but please don’t corner these animals as they become very aggressive when threatened.

King Cobra Fast Fact: You may recognize the king cobra as the species of choice for the snake charmers of South Asia. Although, the king cobra can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient noises.  They are attracted by the shape and movement of the charmer’s flute and not the noise.

I hope you enjoyed today’s fact and have a great weekend!  Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/king-cobra/