As of November 2026, the king cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world. It belongs to the family Elapidae, which many other venomous snakes share. Its genus name, Ophiophagus, means snake-eater.

Other cobras are often more active in the evening. King cobras are active by day. They have better eyesight than most snakes.

A king cobra can raise the front part of its body about three to four feet off the ground, and standing upright lets it see over bushes and tall grass.

A king cobra can also spread a hood on its neck, which makes the snake look bigger. King cobras are not particularly aggressive snakes.

A king cobra's hiss is lower than most snakes' hisses. It sounds more like a dog's growl. The snake makes the hiss with tiny holes in its windpipe, and its lung makes the sound deeper.

King cobras mostly eat other snakes, such as Asian rat snakes and pythons up to about 10 feet long. Some prefer one kind of snake and refuse to eat any other. At zoos, they eat rodents such as mice and rats.

King cobras often stay near streams, where the temperature and the wet air stay steady. A king cobra lives about 20 years in the wild. As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List lists the species as Vulnerable. King cobras are threatened by the destruction of their habitats.

The rotting leaves in the nest give off heat that keeps the eggs warm. The king cobra is the only snake that builds a nest for its eggs, and the mother uses her body to pull leaves and plants into a pile.

A female lays about 21 to 40 eggs. They sit in the nest through spring and summer and hatch in the fall. The mother stays on top of the nest and guards the eggs.

Words to know

• windpipe: air tube
• hood: neck flap
• rodents: mice and rats
• habitats: home places
• Elapidae: snake family