5 Animals That Could Defeat A King Cobra
The King Cobra Snake (Ophiophagus hannah) is the largest venomous snake in the world.
They are distributed mainly in dense forest areas stretching from India to Southeast Asia.
The King Cobra snake is also perhaps the most dangerous snake in the world
where humans are concerned.
The prey of the king cobra is mainly other snakes,
they are also cannibalistic.
When primary prey is scarce,
the king cobra will eat a few small vertebrates such as lizards and rodents.
Under conditions of high prey availability, they can reach a length of 18.5 feet (5.6 m).
Several people die from the bite of the King Cobra each year.
A King Cobra can even kill an elephant.
The king cobra is the sole member of its genus.
It is classified as part of the family Elapidae,
the cobra family.
Hamadryad, the alternative common name for the snake,
is a Greek word meaning “wood nymph.”
Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes,
however, the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite,
is up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce (7 ml).
Fortunately, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible.
King Cobra snakes are fiercely aggressive when cornered or provoked.
Now, let's take a look at 5 animals that can defeat the king cobra.
5. Mongooses
For an animal, trying to kill a snake is almost equal to suicide,
but mongooses have some advantages and tricks of their own.
The mongoose is known for its ability to fight and kill venomous snakes,
especially cobras.
Their specialized acetylcholine receptors render them immune to venom,
while their thick coats and quick speed also come in handy during conflicts.
Firstly, these little mammals live in a group of 10 to 40 mongooses,
so surely it would be hard for the most tactical snake to handle
so many mongooses at a time.
To kill the snake, the group of mongooses surround it
and then try to close in from different directions.
The snake is constantly distracted by the surrounding mongooses who try to bite it.
It is likely that a single mongoose cannot kill a king cobra,
although there has been a case where a mongoose has managed to kill a 10-foot cobra king.
But certainly, if we're talking about a mongoose team working simultaneously,
I'm sure they'll be able to kill a bigger king cobra as well.
4. Python
King cobras can kill pythons with venom because pythons are not resistant to snake venom.
And vice versa, a python can also kill snakes with its powerful constriction technique.
As one of the Elapids,
the King Cobra kills its prey through its venom
which is injected through its hollow fangs
while pythons rely on their abilities to camouflage,
wait, and strengthen in constricting.
There are different types of pythons, and their sizes also vary.
Some of them are even bigger than king cobras.
There was a battle between a king cobra and a reticulated python.
The result? Both died.
The python managed to entangle the cobra and crush it completely,
but not before the king cobra got a bite in and killed the python with its toxic venom.
On the other hand, if the python got its grip on the cobra
before the cobra could bite the python,
then the python will be able to win against the cobra.
Once a python gets its grip on its prey, they don't leave them alive.
Pythons, with their skills, can crush their prey's bones,
stop their prey's heart by their body weight
or their prey won't be able to breathe while they are in the python's tight grip.
3. Honey Badger
Speaking of bites, the honey badger can survive the bites of some very dangerous creatures.
Scientists have witnessed the honey badger being bitten by a viper
a very venomous snake
but after only 2 hours, the honey badger woke up as if nothing had happened.
Scientists are studying this special ability of the honey badger to find a natural antivenom.
They eat scorpions and snakes, and they have an unusually strong immunity to venom.
But it is possible that the honey badger could actually survive a bite from a King Cobra?
After extensive research conducted by Christopher Orr,
the Atlantic's senior editor in charge of our small rabid animal coverage,
the honey badger surely can indeed survive a bite from a King Cobra.
Humans can't, even elephants can't.
This is yet another reason why the honey badger is a bad-ass.
So surely, if a mongoose that is much smaller than a honey badger can defeat a cobra king,
surely our little one can do that too!
Honey badgers are notorious for their strength, ferocity, and toughness.
They can savagely and fearlessly attack nearly any other species when escape is impossible,
even repelling much larger predators such as lions and hyenas.
After all, it is not for nothing that it is called the toughest animal on the planet.
2. Eagles
There is a species of eagle called the Serpent Eagle, which feeds on snakes.
It may not feed exclusively on snakes but can eat snakes like cobras
which can form a large part of its diet.
Eagles, or for that matter any raptor, including the eagle,
will never get into a ‘fight’ situation with a venomous snake.
With its razor sharp eyesight, a raptor can see the snake from a great height.
After that, it is purely an aerial attack.
The raptor will dive and swoop down on its prey,
pick it up in its sharp talons and fly away back to a dizzying height.
The sharp talons of the eagle hold onto the snake with a vice grip
and the bird knows how to hold it in a way that the snake cannot turn back and bite.
Being suddenly airborne is enough to disorient the cobra.
The serpent eagle then lands on a tree or a rock with some impact,
which stuns the snake.
After biting off the snake’s head,
the eagle then goes on to enjoy his meal.
For all the poison they pack, snakes are pretty helpless
and vulnerable creatures when the attack comes from the air.
And if we talk about a larger species of eagle, such as the golden eagle, or harpy eagle,
which are known to attack animals much larger than themselves, such as wolves,
I wouldn't be surprised if he did this with a king cobra.
1. Komodo Dragon
The Komodo dragon is a large lizard, they are endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo,
Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang.
As a result of their size, Komodo dragons are apex predators,
and dominate the ecosystems in which they live.
Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals.
While king cobras and komodo dragons live in different places,
there are areas where cobras and monitor lizards do coexist.
And those monitor lizards are fine with eating the cobras
no matter how much they try to bite them.
For the same reason, a viper doesn’t affect a komodo dragon.
Monitor lizards can be impervious to cobra bites,
and the komodo dragon is the biggest and toughest monitor lizard of them all.
If a monitor lizard can kill a cobra,
I assume that the komodo dragon would easily eat the king cobra
and the king cobra would not be able to harm the komodo dragon.
So if the komodo dragon was inclined to attack a king cobra,
and had an immunity to the king’s venom,
and had skin too tough for the cobra’s fangs to penetrate,
you will realize how this scenario would end.
Even if we say that the cobra venom would have an effect on the komodo dragon,
I think the lizard will be able to kill the snake before it takes effect.
So, in both cases, the cobra king would be dead anyway.
My video is over.
Thanks for watching, see you later.