My Cat and....a visiting "King Cobra"

[Mrjlh]

While sitting on my patio over looking the other patio, I watched as our cat (who has adopted us) chase a snake up one of the vines on one of the hanging Orchids we have. The cat abruptly stopped and assumed the classic "arched back complete with a hissing sound" as the snake reared up in a defensive posture. Upon closer inscription it became oblivious the cat would be on the losing end. Using as long pole I quickly sent the snake on its way back to the fields it came from but not before snapping a few pictures. It was more than happy to escape I might add.

Yes, this is the feared "King Cobra". The one that even green snakes get called and every other snake for that matter. This one is young, maybe a year old if that. About one meter long and possibly a "male" according to a herpetologist I know. Adjacent farmers have just cleared their potato crops three days ago and I'm pretty certain that is where he came from. "Kings" eat other snakes. While they do have a bad reputation, the do not like people so they usually will run unless they are tracking an animal they have just bitten or are stalking one. They will attack if provoked or cornered.

They have a very fast strike. And that is the reason I did not attempt to catch it. You need to get very close. No thanks...one experience in Bangkok years ago, which turned out successful, was enough. Kill it? Why, it eats the other bad snakes. And like I said, to kill it you need to get close. Even with an 18" machete it will still have a 6" reach advantage. If you miss on the first try...it wins. It can reach out 2/3's of its body lenght in less than 1/4 of a second. I don't like those odds. In this case I used a three meter pole. It wrapped itself around the end and I flipped sucker out off the patio on it's first maiden aerial flight! He should get his "flight wings" for that flip!

Oh hum, just another boring day in beautiful Thailand.

[taotoo]

Just off to close my back door.

[big carl]

I was to the understanding they can only strike as far out as the higth they have risen to. If they only rise up half a meter that is all the farther they can strike. I would still stay several meters away from them.

[Minnie the Minx]

Great story and pics. Amazing creatures. Prefer them medium rare in a nice hotpot myself.

[JHolmesJr]

The colours on it are amazing....i would have knocked it out and made a wallet.

Btw your pic makes it look like its entangled in that mesh.

[Minnie the Minx]

Same, same, skin it then into the hotpot. Very nice wallet.

[Mrjlh]

The colours on it are amazing....i would have knocked it out and made a wallet.

Btw your pic makes it look like its entangled in that mesh.

Looking as if it is entangled is deceptive. It very quickly climbed on to the pole I used and really effortlessly. They are known to hang from vines and limbs of trees and strike at victims passing under them.

[steven100]

It's a cobra thailand only has cobras ...

[Mrjlh]

In August 2014 a chef in China died after a Cobra "head" bit him, twenty minutes "after" he had cut off its head! Goes to show you even when you supposedly know what you are doing, things can go terribly wrong.

[meatboy]

keep your eye's on your cat, only 1 life left.

[steffi]

What part of Thailand is this?

[steffi]

It's a baby king cobra.

It's a cobra thailand only has cobras ...

[steven100]

It's a baby king cobra.

It's a cobra thailand only has cobras ...

yeah right ! ... I know thailand and it's just got king cobras he's a black & white one ... I gotta get another bottle ...

[Craig krup]

The stuff of nightmares. How do you guarantee that you'll avoid encroaching on its space if there's a good chance that you won't see it? Human vision involves a lot of "filling in". In other words, you can only actually see clearly the area covered by a ten pence/dime held at arms length. So if something doesn't move you'll go right up close to it.

No wonder the Thais are so tolerant of dogs. Dogs smell ammonia and snakes stink. Make friends with your fur face

[Bobtippit]

Great photos of a great snake, quite clearly some kind of Python.

[steffi]

Is that a joke? It's a baby King Cobra.

Great photos of a great snake, quite clearly some kind of Python.

[lordpeps]

no video of the snake running? that would be awesome to see

[Dap]

Great photos of a great snake, quite clearly some kind of Python.

Have you read any of this thread?

[55Jay]

Great photos, especially the first one.

[soalbundy]

Great photo's. Opposite my house is a derelict bungalow with a large overgrown garden which has since been used by other people for growing vegetables. We used to get about 5 to six such cobras a year in our garden which used to come over the road to us from this bungalow. I would normally leave them alone but as i have a small son i did kill them,one uses a spade,they usually try to escape rather than attack until cornered then they rear up unfolding their hood as in your pic. It's best to kill them when they are on the run turned away from you.

[PythonHouse]

Beautiful snake and great photos. King Cobras are a protected species. Do Not Kill them.

[soalbundy]

Beautiful snake and great photos. King Cobras are a protected species. Do Not Kill them.

depends on the circumstances, rather a dead snake than a dead child.

[jacko45k]

Beautiful snake and great photos. King Cobras are a protected species. Do Not Kill them.

Not round here... they kill children and pets.

[Dionigi]

Down my street in Pattaya the tom cats kill snakes. I dislike cats but am more tolerant afteer the local tom killed a five footer in my yard. Bit it behind the head.

[Gillyflower]

Are you going to call your cat Rikki from now on?

[MeHere]

A python ate our cat when we lived in Bang Bon 5... poor little thing :-S

[crickets]

Awsome pic!

[kinmaew]

where is a pic of puss?

[soalbundy]

where is a pic of puss?

a lot of web sites for that

[Farang99]

It's a cobra thailand only has cobras ...

It's a king cobra - distinguished by the yellow stripes. The common spitting cobra and relatives are all black, with just the hood marking to separate them