King Cobra

[britmaveric]

Scarey - I'm just thinking the damage this big fella could have done.

[qualtrough]

I recall reading that there have been no authenticated cases of a King Cobra biting a human in Thailand, and sure enough I was able to find a Web page with that info:

"Q: Is King Cobra not more dangerous than Cobra?

A: King Cobra is the largest poisonous snake. A full grown specimen is over four metres in length. The amount of venom excreted on biting would be very large and surely fatal but on dry weight basis Cobra venom is about 10 times as toxic as King Cobra venom. However there has been no authentic case of natural King Cobra bite on record in Thailand."

Source: http://www.thailandguidebook.com/snakefarm.html

I don't know if that is true or not. Does anybody who really knows about snakes in Thailand care to comment?

Thais do love to kill snakes, but I can't blame them in most cases. First, a nice food source for someone poor, and second, if it is a poisonous snake it could hurt them, their loved ones, or their livestock. It is one thing to contemplate nature from the safety of a zoo or book, and another to live in it. Most of us know that snakes here for the most part are quite frightened of humans and will attempt to flee, but it is also possible to encounter a snake to the surprise of both parties. Be careful sticking your hands blindly in any brush, piles of wood, holes, etc.!

[gburns57au]

I recall reading that there have been no authenticated cases of a King Cobra biting a human in Thailand, and sure enough I was able to find a Web page with that info:

"Q: Is King Cobra not more dangerous than Cobra?

A: King Cobra is the largest poisonous snake. A full grown specimen is over four metres in length. The amount of venom excreted on biting would be very large and surely fatal but on dry weight basis Cobra venom is about 10 times as toxic as King Cobra venom. However there has been no authentic case of natural King Cobra bite on record in Thailand."

Source: http://www.thailandguidebook.com/snakefarm.html

I don't know if that is true or not. Does anybody who really knows about snakes in Thailand care to comment?

Thais do love to kill snakes, but I can't blame them in most cases. First, a nice food source for someone poor, and second, if it is a poisonous snake it could hurt them, their loved ones, or their livestock. It is one thing to contemplate nature from the safety of a zoo or book, and another to live in it. Most of us know that snakes here for the most part are quite frightened of humans and will attempt to flee, but it is also possible to encounter a snake to the surprise of both parties. Be careful sticking your hands blindly in any brush, piles of wood, holes, etc.!

And ducks love snake meat......try it

[tc101]

Are many people killed by Cobras in Thailand?

[Carmine6]

in europe we live close to a forest and have during summer every 3 weeks a snake (pretty dangerous) in our garden, as well as the neighbours have some.

now noone kills it anymore, it is total old fashion and you theach children and look a bit after them if they are very young.

killing everything is not the way. and look at the statistic car/motorbike accidents and dead people due to snakes.

Why kill it ???

Before it bites a young child would be a good reason.

especially if it has entered a village area or populated area.

I do think it is sad that snakes are killed rather than moved far far away. But the big difference between Europe and out in the country in Thailand is in how likely it is that a person could reach a hospital in time, and how likely it is they'd survive. Cobra venom can stop your breathing in less than 30 minutes. And you need antivenom to fix it, or be on an artificial ventilator for days, which I'd imagine are hard to find in most places in Thailand.

Throw in the economic costs of possible hospital bills, possible loss of a cow, or just time not being able to work, and it's hard to make a case for just letting them get away. I would think the low death rate from snake bites is because snakes are routinely killed, and that the rate would jump if they were just left alone.

[SnakeBite]

Since they killed it, they should have used the skin also, would have made a great wallet and a big belt.

[Thaiboxer]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a big snake like that get eaten out in the country; many of those folks will eat just about anything. Some guys who were working at our house caught two big lizards and they said they were going to use them for fish bait...I doubt it:)

[TRIPxCORE]

That has got to be the biggest Cobra I have ever seen. I never even thought they could grow that large. I would be scared out of my mind had I encountered it.

[English Noodles]

So why did they kill it ?

Well there is really little choice in the rural villages when a venomous snake like a cobra enters into the living areas other than to kill the snake. Ya just can't let things like that slither around people despite the majesty of nature.

I agree, but then again was it not the people who moved in to the living area of the snakes in the first place?

[Tippaporn]

I recall reading that there have been no authenticated cases of a King Cobra biting a human in Thailand, and sure enough I was able to find a Web page with that info:

"Q: Is King Cobra not more dangerous than Cobra?

A: King Cobra is the largest poisonous snake. A full grown specimen is over four metres in length. The amount of venom excreted on biting would be very large and surely fatal but on dry weight basis Cobra venom is about 10 times as toxic as King Cobra venom. However there has been no authentic case of natural King Cobra bite on record in Thailand."

Source: http://www.thailandguidebook.com/snakefarm.html

I don't know if that is true or not. Does anybody who really knows about snakes in Thailand care to comment?

Thais do love to kill snakes, but I can't blame them in most cases. First, a nice food source for someone poor, and second, if it is a poisonous snake it could hurt them, their loved ones, or their livestock. It is one thing to contemplate nature from the safety of a zoo or book, and another to live in it. Most of us know that snakes here for the most part are quite frightened of humans and will attempt to flee, but it is also possible to encounter a snake to the surprise of both parties. Be careful sticking your hands blindly in any brush, piles of wood, holes, etc.!

I hope it was killed for food and not out of fear, especially given that there are no documented King Cobra bites in Thailand. Such a magnificent creature to waste otherwise. Mindless fear of certain species leads to their wholesale slaughter and eventual extinction.

Qualtrough, humans are a part of nature, not apart from it, and need to learn to live along with the rest of it.

[qualtrough]

Qualtrough, humans are a part of nature, not apart from it, and need to learn to live along with the rest of it.

Nice thought, but not very practical for those not living in apts. and condos. Suppose you live in the countryside, have young children, and you find a krait living on your property. Do you call a removal expert? Do you catch it possibly at some risk to yourself, and then dump it somewhere else so that it is possibly becomes someone else's problem? Or do you decide to move elsewhere in the hopes that snakes do not reside there? I am not saying that snakes should be killed reflexively, but am saying that there are times when it might not be a bad thing. I don't know how you would feel, but I would feel pretty poorly if one of my daughters got bitten by a poisonous snake that I had seen before but decided to leave alone.

I would bet that the majority of forum members are carnivorous and thus care little about the chickens, pigs, and cows that must be killed to supply them, so why tears over deadly snakes that would not hesitate to kill under the right circumstances? Not thinking in particular of the snake that is the topic of this post since they apparently pose little threat, but of snakes that pose the possibility of greater danger.

[Tippaporn]

Qualtrough, humans are a part of nature, not apart from it, and need to learn to live along with the rest of it.

Nice thought, but not very practical for those not living in apts. and condos. Suppose you live in the countryside, have young children, and you find a krait living on your property. Do you call a removal expert? Do you catch it possibly at some risk to yourself, and then dump it somewhere else so that it is possibly becomes someone else's problem? Or do you decide to move elsewhere in the hopes that snakes do not reside there? I am not saying that snakes should be killed reflexively, but am saying that there are times when it might not be a bad thing. I don't know how you would feel, but I would feel pretty poorly if one of my daughters got bitten by a poisonous snake that I had seen before but decided to leave alone.

I would bet that the majority of forum members are carnivorous and thus care little about the chickens, pigs, and cows that must be killed to supply them, so why tears over deadly snakes that would not hesitate to kill under the right circumstances? Not thinking in particular of the snake that is the topic of this post since they apparently pose little threat, but of snakes that pose the possibility of greater danger.

No arguments from me, Qualtrough. Just wanted to make the point about reflexive killing, which I knew you understood. And to dispel the notion that humans are somehow apart from the natural world.

Edited March 4, 2006 by Tippaporn

[englishoak]

nice snake shame they killed it though........ I wonder how old it was

[Carmine6]

nice snake shame they killed it though........ I wonder how old it was

Last night, there coincidently was a National Geographic program on the king cobra (in India). They said it could reach 15 ft long in 10 years.

[girlx]

How do all you country folks avoid snakes on the property?

according to the locals you can plant lemongrass around to keep them away