Latest revision as of 19:17, 19 June 2025

[edit] Habitat

[edit] 2020: spotted at 2,400m

Prashant Jha, In a 1st, king cobra spotted at 2,400m, September 4, 2020: The Times of India

Nainital:

Forest officials in Uttarakhand have for the first time recorded sightings of king cobra at heights of 2,200 metres to 2,400 metres in the Himalayas, a new altitude record for the species which has led to several experts calling for a detailed study on how the world’s largest venomous snake was thriving at such elevations, reports Prashant Jha.

The observations, part of a report prepared by the state’s forest department’s research wing, a copy of which is with TOI, put the species’ habitat range as varying from 400m in Terai region to up to 2,400m in the hills. The report said such a wide variation in habitat for a cold-blooded was “unusual” and demands scientific investigation. Reptiles generally prefer warmer climates, it said. The snakes were spotted in Mukteshwar.

[edit] 2025: Mt Everest region

Gaurav Talwar, June 13, 2025: The Times of India

Dehradun : Ten King Cobras were recently spotted at elevations between 1,000 and 2,700 metres in the Everest region of Nepal, sparking concern among scientists who said the sightings could be linked to shifting climate patterns. The reptiles, typically found in lowland tropical habitats, appeared in areas including Gopaleshwor, Bhanjyang, Sokhol and Fulchowk in what experts described as an unusual development.


Bishnu Pandey of the Institute of Forestry in Nepal said the sightings were a “recent phenomenon”. He said, “We found King Cobra eggs in the Gauri Shankar Range just before the Covid-19 pandemic. Similarly, cobras were sighted in Jiri municipality, which lies between 1,600m and over 5,000m.” He added that the snakes found in these areas were the same species as those seen in Nepal’s Terai region and suggested climate change as the most likely cause of their movement to higher altitudes.


Ramesh Chinnasamy, a scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, said King Cobras typically inhabit rainforests and are naturally shy. He said, “While we cannot directly attribute this shift in distribution to climate change without a detailed scientific study, rising temperatures do tend to extend the active periods of King Cobras and other reptiles, potentially prompting them to expand their habitat range. Systematic research is needed to assess whether the sightings mark a broader ecological change or are isolated events.”


Wildlife biologist and King Cobra researcher Jignasu Dolia, based in Nainital, confirmed similar high-altitude sightings in Uttarakhand. He said, “King Cobras have been seen in parts of Kumaon, including Mukteshwar, which lies above 2,000 metres. Generally, cobra sightings diminish with increasing altitude, so these sightings are uncommon but not unusual.” 
Meanwhile, a recent study has shown that King Cobras —are not a single species. Genetic data now reveals they comprise four distinct species, challenging the earlier classification under Ophiophagus hannah.


Sanjiv Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forests (research), Uttarakhand forest department, acknowledged their adaptability. “Though they are native to rainforests, King Cobras show remarkable adaptability. In Corbett Tiger Reserve, they are found at elevations ranging from 300 to over 2,000 metres,” he said.


Supporting the climate shift theory, a recent ICIMOD study warned that temperatures across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, including Nepal and India, are expected to remain 0.5°C to 2°C above long-term averages. Nepal has recorded an increase in extreme weather events, and its maximum temperature is rising by an average of 0.05°C per year. Experts said such changes could be altering local ecosystems and influencinganimal distribution.

[edit] Kannur

[edit] July/Aug: hatching time

P Sudhakaran, Kerala: It’s king cobra hatching time in Kannur!, July 31, 2018: The Times of India

King Cobra
From: P Sudhakaran, Kerala: It’s king cobra hatching time in Kannur!, July 31, 2018: The Times of India

Two consecutive instances of successful hatching of king cobra – one at Parassinikkadavu Snake Park in Kerala's Kannur district on July 28, with four hatchlings, and the second in a private plantation near Kottiyoor where 23 king cobra eggs were hatched on July 29 – have come to light.

Though the hatchlings at Kottiyoor were released in the nearby forest, it will not cause any problem to the human habitat and care has been taken to release it in safe places, said divisional forest officer (DFO) Sunil Pamidi.

“The king cobras are released in the natural habitat only and they will not intrude into the human settlements. Moreover, where the king cobra nested is actually adjacent to the forest areas only,” he said.

The eggs were spotted almost three months back, on May 4, and ever since that the Rapid Response Team (RRT) under wildlife rescuer Riyaz Mangad and others had been closely monitoring it after covering the eggs in an enclosure to make sure the hatchlings did not escape.

Last year also, around twenty eggs were hatched in the same locality, in another private plot and the snakes were released in the surrounding forest areas.

“Last year, some people had made an effort to destroy the nest and eggs because of fear and hence this time when we spotted it we took extra care to make sure people did not destroy it and also gave confidence to the people and convinced them that the king cobras do not intrude into human habitats,” he said.

He also said we have to study the life of reptiles from close quarters and also make efforts to estimate their population. As part of this, the entire hatching process was documented by the RRT, said Riyaz.

Just because there were two instances of king cobra eggs hatching near the human habitat, it does not mean they are facing any habitat threat or coming closer to our habitat, said Sajikumar V, wildlife warden, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary.

“These are actually the natural habitats of king cobras and there is nothing unusual in the eggs hatching there, because they lay eggs in such places where the humidity is 50 percent to facilitate natural hatching,” he said.

Though people are normally afraid of snakes, here, in both the cases of hatching in the last one year, the residents of the localities were highly cooperative and this is a positive trend, said R Roshnath of Malabar Awareness and Rescue Centre for Wildlife (MARC), an NGO focusing on rescuing wildlife in the urban area.