These snakes face a variety of threats stemming from human activities. Heavy deforestation in Southeast Asia has destroyed the habitats of many king cobras, while they are also harvested in large numbers for skin, food, and medicinal purposes.
They are also collected for the international pet trade. King cobras are also persecuted by humans who fear their menacing reputation. In Vietnam, the king cobra is a protected species. The Indian government implants microchips in captive king cobras to allow officials to identify any snakes that have newly been taken captive—which has been outlawed—in order to reduce the illegal wildlife trade.
All rights reserved. Animals Photo Ark. King cobra. King cobras are the longest of all venomous snakes. As they face a variety of threats stemming from human activities, these snakes are vulnerable to extinction. Common Name: King cobras. Scientific Name: Ophiophagus hannah. Type: Reptiles. Diet: Carnivore. Group Name: Quiver.
Cobras don't have to hunt often, but when they do, the combination of their size and their potent venom makes them a force to be reckoned with. Cobras don't have to eat every day -- in fact, they can go months without a meal. When it's time to feed, though, they rely on their tongues to help them hunt. Cobras aren't deaf, but they aren't able to distinguish ambient noises, and rely on their sense of smell to track down prey.
By flicking their tongues in and out, they pull smells into their mouths, where a special organ interprets the smell. Following the scent, the cobra tracks his prey. When a cobra is on the defensive, he often makes his body appear as big as possible to look threatening. I'm sure the snakes and the things they rely on to eat are locked in this co-evolutionary arms race.
Future studies of strike speeds across species may help solve another puzzle: How can snakes endure such high accelerations? Many animals can move quickly, but they're usually launching a tongue or a limb—not their whole heads. By comparison, a human pilot can lose consciousness when experiencing less than a quarter of the acceleration that snakes undergo.
After all, the researchers have only compared vipers with one other species, and there are thousands more. A nonvenomous Texas rat snake coils up in a defensive posture. Post a Comment. Interested in finding out about the fastest snakes in the world?
Snakes, love them or hate them, are one of the most fascinating species around. The fear factor associated with snakes primarily relates to their ability to kill with just one bite… but also relates to their speed — both on the ground and their strike when attacking prey.
So, just how fast are snakes? Read on below to see the three fastest snakes on the ground, and the three snakes with the fastest strike speed, plus a great video showing just how fast a cottonmouth viper can strike its prey.
Sidewinder — fastest snake in the world — in sand. The sidewinder is a venomous pit viper snake that lives in the sandy deserts of the Southwestern USA and Northwestern Mexico, and makes this list of speediest snakes by moving in a unique way. Rather than the standard wavy motion known as lateral undulation, sidewinders repeatedly use their bodies to carve indents in the sand and use the ridges of sand they create to push against, resulting in explosive power.
Sidewinders can be easily identified by the unique horns on the top of their head, used to prevent anything from getting into their eyes whilst submerged in the sand. Black mamba, the second-fastest snake on ground. How fast are black mambas? Growing up to 4 meters long with a slender, agile shape, the fastest black mamba speed is around 19 km per hour in short bursts on open ground. The black mamba is the only snake on this list to live in Africa the dry bushlands of Eastern Africa , using its speed to catch prey and inject an extremely toxic venom.
The combination of speed, venom, and aggressive attitude is what makes the black mamba such a feared snake across Africa — and, indeed, puts it on the list of most dangerous animals in Africa.
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