Madras, July 28: The Madras Snake Park, Guindy, has a new addition — a King Cobra. It was caught in the North Andamans rain forest on June 15 by Mr. Romulus Whitaker, Honorary Director of the Park. Since coming to Madras on July 1, it has been housed in a special enclosure, where its natural habitat is simulated.A King Cobra brought to the Snake Park from Thailand died after seven months. Another from Karnataka also did not survive for long. Hence efforts are being made to air condition the enclosure. Visitors can see it moving in the cooler hours of the day.According to Mr. Whitaker, the King Cobra is found only in certain rain forests and in extreme estuarine mangrove swarms of the Sunderbans (Bengal), the Bhitarkanika sanctuary on the Orissa coast, and the Western Ghats.Twelve to 15 inches long when hatched, King cobras can grow to a maximum length of 19 feet, with a girth of about five inches. The female lays about 20 eggs at a time, and the hatching takes about two months. (The snake brought to Madras is a female).The King Cobra is not a true cobra, though it is also poisonous. It is not of the same genus as the common cobra. Published - July 29, 2026 02:20 am IST