🐆 Bobcat vs King cobra 🐍
The king cobra is about 3 times as long as the bobcat.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐆 Bobcat | 🐍 King cobra |
|---|---|---|
| Size The king cobra is about 3 times as long as the bobcat. | 30 in to 4.1 ft76 cm to 1.2 m1 | 10 to 12 ft3.1 to 3.7 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the king cobra yet. | 8.8 to 33 lb4 to 15 kg1 | no checked number yet |
| Lives The king cobra usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. | 12 years12 years1 | 17 years17 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles | mostly other snakes |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America | forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China |
Which one? Bobcat or king cobra
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the bobcat or the king cobra yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
9 things to know about Bobcat vs King cobra
- The bobcat: A wild cat of North America with a short tail.
- The king cobra: A very long snake that eats mostly other snakes.
- They are different kinds of animal. The bobcat is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk; the king cobra is a reptile, so it has scaly skin.
- The king cobra is about 3 times as long as the bobcat: 2 against 1.
- The king cobra usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the king cobra.
- Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
- The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The bobcat: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The king cobra: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐆 Bobcat
- A bobcat lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- It is named for its short, bobbed tail.
- It eats mostly rodents and rabbits.
🐍 King cobra
- A king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
- It is longer than most grown-ups are tall.
- It lives near streams in forests, bamboo and swamps.
Questions kids ask about Bobcat and King cobra
Which is bigger, bobcat or king cobra?
The king cobra is about 3 times as long as the bobcat: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, bobcat or king cobra?
We only have a checked weight for the bobcat: 1. Scientists are still working out the other.
Which lives longer, bobcat or king cobra?
The king cobra usually lives about one and a half times as long as the bobcat. Usual lifespans: 1 for the bobcat and 2 for the king cobra.
What do bobcat and king cobra eat?
Both eat meat. The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles; the king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
Where do bobcat and king cobra live?
The bobcat lives in forests, semi-deserts, mountains and brushland across North America. The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do bobcats eat king cobras?
The bobcat eats rodents, rabbits, large ground birds and sometimes small deer or reptiles. King cobras are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the king cobra is about 3 times as long as the bobcat.
Do king cobras eat bobcats?
The king cobra eats mostly other snakes. Bobcats are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, bobcat or king cobra?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bobcat-vs-king-cobra
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Lynx rufus (bobcat), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.