PERFECT STRANGER

It is surprising how little is understood about the world's largest venomous snake

- P GOWRI SHANKAR

Snakes stir some of humanity's most primal fears. The very word “snake” evokes images of fanned-out hoods and flickering, forked tongues. The fear of being bitten and of venom coursing through the bloodstream, is real. India is a global snakebite hotspot, accounting for nearly half of the world’s snakebite deaths (81,000-138,000 annually). The World Health Organization classifies snakebite as a “neglected tropical disease,” and with good reason. Yet these reptiles need protection as much as any other species. And chief among them is the iconic king cobra—the world’s largest venomous snake that can grow up to six metres long.

Surprisingly, not much is known about this giant— its identity, its ecological role, even the threats it faces— revealing just how little we truly understand about one of the planet’s most extraordinary predators.

The fact is that despite its name, the king cobra is not a true cobra but a distinct genus of its own. From 1836 to 1961, it has been varyingly classified and named by scientists from across tropical Asia. This is because factors such as age, size, sex and geographic variations produce dramatic differences in appearance of a species. Add a fragmented range across tropical Asia, and identifying true king cobra populations became a challenge.