KRAIT (Bungarus caeruleus)

APPEARANCE:

The average length is 0.9 m (3.0 ft), but they can grow to 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in). Males are longer, with proportionately longer tails. The head is flat and the neck barely noticeable. Krait snakes vary between a black and bluish black colour, with approximately 40 thin, white crossbars which may be more pronounced or not evident at all on some individuals.

BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR:

During daytime, Krait snakes are docile and not overtly active. They often find harbourage in old rodent burrows, loose soil, or underneath debris, so are rarely spotted. Kraits habitually roll its body into a coiled ball, keeping its head hidden. When in this ‘balled’ state, they allow considerable handling, but over handling may irritate the snake and could result in a bite.

During the night, Kraits are much more active and manage to escape threats by hissing loudly. Occasionally it may bite if disturbed. It may become aggressive at night if threatened.

Kraits are reluctant to bite, so as to preserve venom. However when they do strike, they typically hold on for a while, which enables them to inject large amounts of venom.

Krait snakes are known to reside in old termite mounds, brick piles, rat holes, even inside houses. They are frequently found in water or close to a water source.

KING COBRA (Ophiophagus hannah)

APPEARANCE:

King cobras come in a variety of different colours but largely vary from black, light brown, olive green and in most cases, have yellow bands around their length. They measure 3 to 4 metres on average and display a distinctive hood when agitated.

BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR:

Kind cobras are a diurnal species, meaning that they are primarily active during the day. Like other snakes, King cobras pick up chemical signals with their forked tongue and transmit this information to the Jacobsen’s organ in the roof of their month. This is essentially their sense of smell. Together with their keen eyesight, King cobras can detect a prey’s movement from over 100m. They feed primarily off other snakes, especially rat snakes, but also eat rodents, birds and lizards.

Unlike many other species of snake, king cobra females are devout parents. They form mounds for their eggs by sweeping up leaves and debris. They then protect and incubate their eggs for a comparably long period of time (between 60 and 90 days). Kind cobras lay between 20 and 40 eggs at a time. Once the eggs have hatched, the mother instinctively goes off to find prey, so she doesn’t eat her newborns. Young King cobras are just as aggressive as adults and possess venom of the same toxicity.

The venom of these snakes contains haditoxin, a strong neurotoxin that impairs the nervous system. King cobras are able to deliver a fatal bite, with some victims dying within 30 minutes of being bitten.

MANDALAY SPITTING COBRA (Naja manadalayensis)

APPEARANCE:

There are many different species of cobra in Myanmar. In terms of the number of snakes bites each year, the Mandalay spitting cobra, the King cobra and monocle cobra are the main offenders.

The Mandalay spitting cobra is medium-sized measuring on average between 1 and 1.2 metres. Its head is oval-shaped with a short rounded snout and large nostrils. They are generally yellowish brown to dark brown in colour, with dark brown spots and smear marks.

BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR:

This species is prevalent in the central zone of Myanmar, preferring the dry conditions. They are nocturnal hunters, feeding mainly on toads and frogs. During the day they are mostly inactive and spend most of their time basking in the sun. These cobras, similar to the Indochinan spitting cobra, will spit in response to very little provocation. They are alert and defensive creature and will sometimes charge towards threats while hissing loudly.

The venom is highly toxic, affecting the nervous system by inhibiting the synapses at nerve endings. This can lead to paralysis and even death.