Q 01/05

What makes up most of a wild king cobra's diet, as the Greek meaning of its genus name Ophiophagus suggests?

A) Frogs and toads

B) Other snakes

C) Rats and mice

D) Birds' eggs

Answer · why

B) Other snakes

Other snakes are the king cobra's main prey, venomous species included, and adults have even been recorded eating smaller king cobras.

Q 02/05

A single king cobra bite can deliver enough venom to kill 20 people or which huge land animal?

A) A hippopotamus

B) A rhinoceros

C) An elephant

D) A giraffe

Answer · why

C) An elephant

An elephant can be killed by one king cobra bite, not because the venom is unusually strong drop for drop but because the snake injects so much of it.

Q 03/05

The female king cobra is the only snake in the world known to do what for her eggs?

A) Build a nest

B) Bury them in sand

C) Carry them in her jaws

D) Keep them in her body

Answer · why

A) Build a nest

She will build a nest by pushing dead leaves into a mound with her body, then lay her clutch inside and guard it fiercely until hatching time.

Q 04/05

The king cobra's unusually low-pitched hiss is most often compared to which other animal sound?

A) A cat's purr

B) An owl's hoot

C) A bull's bellow

D) A dog's growl

Answer · why

D) A dog's growl

A dog's growl is the usual comparison, because the hiss sits at far lower frequencies than the hisses of most snakes, closer to a human voice.

Q 05/05

On which continent do all wild king cobras live, from mangrove swamps to mountain rainforests?

A) Africa

B) Asia

C) Oceania

D) Europe

Answer · why

B) Asia

Asia is the king cobra's only home, though many people picture cobras in Egypt: Africa's cobras are different snakes in a separate genus.