Impurest's Guide to Animals #61 - Hamadryad

It’s April once again, a joyous and wonderful month, and yes I am still taking my meds before anyone asks me. Last week the sexually aggressive Western Capercaillie took to the lek and showed off his strength. This week’s creature is an intelligent and illusive forest dweller, immortalized in mythology dating back to the Ancient Greeks…

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Issue #61 - Hamadryad

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Chordata

Class – Reptillia

Order – Squamata

Family – Elaphidae

Genus – Ophidiophagus

Species – hannah

Related Species - Despite its other common name, the King Cobra, this species is not related to other cobra species. (1)

Range

The Snake Terminator

The King Cobra, is the longest venomous snake in the world, with an average length of three to five meters, and a weight of just under six kilograms. These snakes come in a range of colours, ranging from olive green to black, and all possess yellow banding on their backs, although in most specimens this isn’t easily seen by the naked eye. Like the true cobras (Naja sp) and a wide range of other snakes, the King Cobra has modified ribs, used to spread a ‘hood’ to make it look more intimidating when defending itself. In addition to this display the King Cobra will ‘growl’, beings one of two snakes that can accomplish this feat, to further intimidate any predators (2).

A hunting King Cobra behaves very differently from one forced into defence, with the snake remaining silent, and locking onto even the smallest movement with their excellent vision. As their genus name suggests, the King Cobra predominantly hunts other snakes, including small pythons, other cobras and vipers, usually subduing them with a swift bite followed by constriction of the prey. In addition to snakes, the species also takes small mammals, birds and other reptiles, and has been known to display cannibalistic tendencies outside the mating season.

King Cobra mating occurs in January, and often takes a few days, with the male following the female around the forest floor, and fending off rival animals, also looking to mate with her. Once done the female will construct a nest mound, using her to create a heap of leaves, twigs and other vegetation, and then lays up to forty eggs in the top, before covering them with more greenery. Once completed, the female King Cobra will stand guard on her nest until the eggs hatch, and she if forced to give up her vigil to make sure she doesn't feed on her own hatchlings (3). Young King Cobras are arboreal, and reach sexual maturity around the age of six years old.

Five Fun King Cobra Facts

The name Hamadryad, refers to the occasional tree dwelling nature of the King Cobra. A few other arboreal animals have Hamdryasas either a species or genus name, harking to their tree dwelling nature.

Still of all these ‘Hamadryads’ the King Cobra is the most infamous. The Ancient GreekGeographer Strabo described the animal thusly; “to live on trees, darting down upon and killing other snakes as well as animals and men. It was the great Cobra de Capello, the death snake of the ancient Druids…The monster is given as seventeen to nineteen feet long; an oviparous serpent only known in the dense woods and wilds of India, beyond the Ganges” (4)

In addition to their fearsome reputation, the King Cobra is reportedly the most intelligent of any snake. In captivity individuals have learnt to identify their keepers, as well as recognizing not to strike their own reflections, mirrored on their tank.

Wild King Cobras have shown to be fairly placid, and can control the amount of venom they release per bite in defensive encounters.

Even newly hatched King Cobras have the potential to kill. Their venom is as fully developed and as lethal as a fully grown adults.

Bibliography

1 - www.arkive.org

2 - Young, Bruce A. (1991). "Morphological basis of "growling" in the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah". Journal of Experimental Zoology260 (3): 275–8

3 - http://animals.pawnation.com/life-cycle-king-cobra-snake-6653.html

4 - Ward, Cyrenas. O (1900) A History of the Ancient Working People: From the Earliest Known Period to the Adoption of Christianity by Constantine, Volume 2

Picture References

1 - http://cdn4.sci-news.com/images/enlarge/image_1595_1e-King-cobra.jpg

2 - http://www.buzzle.com/images/snakes/king-cobra-range-map.jpg

3 - http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/A3/A3AD5183-DC05-4D6B-844C-7911AE70C9A6/Presentation.Large/King-cobra-resting.jpg

4 - http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/84/8471D4F3-9327-454F-8355-1C1C002CE3EF/Presentation.Large/Juvenile-king-cobra---defensive-posture.jpg

That everyone, is the Hamadryad or King Cobra, not so much a nymph but hardly a hideous dragon either. Next weeks we have a toothy request from @ms-lola. But until then critic, comment and check out past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary.

April Fools

Impurest Cheese

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Sexy Wood Nymphs for all!

That one in the second picture is completely unamused.

I didn't know they were the longest venomous snakes.

Ah. Nice stuff here. ^_^

Cool, never knew they were the most intelligent snake

@impurestcheese: Aren't they also one of the fastest snakes as well?

Kombra!!

Very nice and informative, keep up the good work ^_^

So when snake charmers perform the Cobras are domesticated and taught?

Your Pokemon card is missing an an'mal. :}

Very cool to learn about, especially how the fathers would sometimes protect the eggs from the mothers.

I suppose some people would like to keep these particular snakes as pets since they can identify their handlers, although maybe that's an extra reason for them not to (outside of the obvious).

My favorite snake. The size, the feeding habits, and just the name alone are awesome! It's also interesting how it isn't related to true Cobras.

@xwraith: Well it was probably asleep before it got photo'd

@ccraft: Yeah and they hold onto that record quite comfortably, being a meter and a half longer then the next longest species (the Black Mamba). When threatened a big King Cobra can rear up so its head is six foot of the ground

@korrasami: Thanks

@quinnofthestoneage: Yeah, having seen the species in the wild, you get the feeling that there is some thought process going on behind those eyes, its rather unnerving...

@thevivas: Yes they are among the fastest moving snakes, beaten in speed by only a few (mostly the two mambas, taipans and a few smaller cobras)

@cattlebattle: Not getting the reference but thanks

@claymore1998: Thanks

@cgoodness: No snakes can't be domesticated not tamed, in addition some individuals are smart enough to look past an object(moving or not) and only watch the person holding it

@cbishop: Ah yes it is, I'll rectify that tomorrow. Thanks for the comment

@ms-lola: Yes, I strongly urge anyone who wants a venomous snake as a pet to reconsider their stance for the welfare of all around them.

@ostyo: Yep, the species is awe inspiring, of that there is no doubt. Interestingly its kill ratio, despite the toxicity of its venom, is a lot lower then other snakes it lives with, mostly because its smart enough to use venom in defence only as a last resort

@impurestcheese: Would you say they're pretty key to their environment when it comes to controlling the number of other snakes vermin? Pretty epic how they actually growl.

@ostyo: There prefered prey are rat snakes, a non venemous colubid snake, so not really. The growl sounds like an angry dogs growl, so yes it is kind of amazing

Had no idea they where not going related to other cobra's :P

@laflux: Yeah the King Cobra is genetically distinct from all the true cobras (Naja sp) and is in a genus all by itself.

@impurestcheese: Wow you've seen them in the wild! May I ask where?

Move over, Capercaillie, Satan's got a new favorite toy.

@quinnofthestoneage: Indonesia, during my gap year on a snake handling course

@fuzzylittlerodent: Bobbit Worm eclipses both of them in grossness, and is pretty much the evil bench mark all other issues are judged against

@impurestcheese: Wow, sounds fun :D

Awesome. I just learn something new today.

@terry2012: Thanks, that was my intention :-)

@quinnofthestoneage: It was save for the centipede bite I got. Three days of fever dreams and vomiting isn't great

@impurestcheese: Oh that's not good, sounds horrible

@quinnofthestoneage: Yep, the thing crawled into my sleeping bag and tagged me with it's venemous spurs on the feet. The pain is akin to forty little cigarette burns, not pretty at all

@impurestcheese: You are most welcome ^_^

@claymore1998: Thanks once again

@impurestcheese: Anytime.

@korrasami: Thank you?

You are welcome.

That is terrible. I hope you a speedy recovery and well soon.

@terry2012: That bite was six years ago, all healed up in the majority but thanks for your concern :-)

Will the real King Cobra please submit its work card

You welcome.

@terry2012: No problem

I see this snake, this is all i can think of .....

@rd189: Ophidiophagic indeed. Looks like the King Cobra is indeed a Metal snake

@impurestcheese: I saw a King Cobra at the exotic pet shop near my town once. He wasn't for sell, the shop owner bought him after someone decided they didn't want him anymore. Apparently the original owner also removed the venom glands from it's jaw? That seems cruel...

@ostyo: It isn't done by serious herpetologists for that very reason. Instead they milk the snake for anti-venom (a less stressful and invasive procedure) to negate any damage done by the animal, rather than risk its health

@impurestcheese: Kombra is how you say "Cobra" in Greek. There used to be a weird, Greek, 80s pop song called Kombra as well.

@cattlebattle: Oh cool, Greek is something I speak intermittently so I had no idea. Thanks for the comment and the info

@impurestcheese: You're welcome?

@korrasami: Couldn't find your original post until after I'd replied is all. MMuch confusion I had at the time

@impurestcheese: Ah.

@korrasami: Yeah sorty about any confusion caused.

@impurestcheese: Its okay. We all get confused sometimes. ^_^

I once saw Dr Bill Haast (the man who invented snake antivenin) at the Miami Serpentarium hand catch and milk one of these beasts. Usually he did the venom"milking" show in a little pavilion and did about fifteen snakes at a time. He had to do the King Cobra in a large court yard he had roped off. It was an astounding site (I think I was like 12), if snakes didn't creep my out so much I think I might have wanted to be him when I grew up. He was a pretty cool guy, and that was an enormous snake.

@heroup2112: Yeah King Cobra's are massive indeed. I probably owe Dr. Haast my life after I was tagged seven years ago by an Indian Cobra. Needed Anti Venom and Hospital rest after that one. Thanks for commenting.

@impurestcheese: OMG? Where do you live that you got hit by an Indian Cobra? Well, duh..India most likely. I'm very glad you made it through safely.