Cobra Snake - T Shirt

Just the other day,i was chilling at home,watching my favourite National Geographic channel on cable when there's this documentary that came up about snakes.Now the mention of snakes brings me straight back to Thailand when i was there with my family a couple of years back and we had gone to a snake farm.....And yes,its a Cobra Farm.

I was just thinking,lets do a blog posting on this beautiful highly dangerous reptiles.Trust me guys,u wouldnt wanna mess with this fellas unless u thinking of visiting heaven as your next destination.

Today,we embark on the journey of discovery into the realms of the mighty King Cobra.

cobra snake - Google Search

The King Cobra is the world's longest venomous snake,with a length that can be as large as 6.7 m (22 ft).This species is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India,but found mostly in forested areas.

Its genus name,Ophiophagus,literally means "snake-eater",and its diet primarily consists of other snakes,including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species.The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic,and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite.The mortality rate from a bite can be as high as 75%.

King Cobra Snake Facts

King cobras live mainly in the rain forests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia, and their coloring can vary greatly from region to region. They are comfortable in the trees, on land, and in water, feeding mainly on other snakes, venomous and nonvenomous. They will also eat lizards, eggs, and small mammals.

They are the only snakes in the world that build nests for their eggs, which they guard ferociously until the hatchlings emerge.

King cobras may be best known as the species of choice for the snake charmers of South Asia. Although cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient noises, sensing ground vibrations instead. The charmer's flute entices the cobra by its shape and movement, not by the music it emits.

King Cobra Variation

Cobra pose – Bhujangasana


baby cobra pose
Lie on your stomach with your hands below your shoulders.
Inhale and slowly come up just a little (baby cobra), lifting the head and torso, keeping the elbows touching the ribs and shoulder blades pulled down, pushing the tops of the feet into the floor
Return to the starting position and relax briefly
Come up as second time about half way (mommy cobra) this time using the arms. Gently return to the floor on the exhale.

daddy cobra pose
Finally, inhale and come up as far as you can using your arms (daddy cobra). Be sure to keep your neck long, shoulder blades pulling down your back.
Exhale and return to the floor, chin leading.
Benefits: strengthens the spine, opens the heart and chest, stimualtes the abdominal organs, relieves tress & tagiue, beneficial for asthma relief


King Cobra Variation

king cobra
This is fun to do just for the challenge. It is not something that has to be done to ‘complete’ the pose and is totally optional. I almost always try it with my kids and teens classes to see who can achieve this ellusive and somewhat contortionist version of the pose. The result always creates discussion and opportunities for individual students to shine.
Begin by performing Cobra pose
Try to get your feet to touch your head – this is challenging but there always seems to be one or two individuals who can accomplish it thanks to natural flexibility – celebrate this
Watch for more animal poses in the coming weeks which will tie together in an upcoming yoga adventure story perfect for pre-school and elementary aged kids.

king cobra

king cobra

king cobra

king cobra

snake eating snake

snake eating another snake

king cobra eating another snake

king cobra

king cobra

king cobra

snake eating rat

cape cobra

Prior to this sighting, the species has been reported from Gangtok 1700m in 1923 and was believed to be limited to the tropical forests of Sikkim Himalaya <1250m (Gammie 1928). The species has also been reported from the Teesta Valley, Sikkim at elevations <500m (Chettri  & Bhupathy 2007; Chettri et al. 2008). The highest known altitude record for King Cobra in the entire northeastern India was 1700m at Khonoma, Nagaland (Das et al. 2008). Temperate forests of the eastern Himalaya have never been reported as a habitat for the King Cobra as they were in higher altitudes characterized by cold climatic conditions (Ahmed et al. 2009).

There have been very few herpetofaunal surveys in this region as evident from the record of the King Cobra after a gap of 82 years from Sikkim (Gammie 1928; Chettri  & Bhupathy 2007; Chettri et al. 2008). Lack of awareness among the local people could also be a disadvantage for the conservation of this species as its status and distribution has not been fully documented. Therefore, we recommend that dedicated surveys be carried out in all four districts of Sikkim to ascertain the present distribution limits and conservation status of the King Cobra and other species of herpetofauna as initiated by Chettri et al. (2008, 2010); and awareness programmes for the local communities to enable them understand the significance of this species and conservation importance of other herpetofauna. This new record of King Cobra in temperate forests and at higher altitudes requires further research.