Re: Bungarus andamanensis feeding on frogs
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 8:55 pmSpeaking of king cobras (even if it has nothing to do with Havelock) I want to tell here the recent experience of my two german friends Achim and Rica Kempter, who are fallen in love with another tropical island: Tioman, in Malaysia.
They went there so many times, but never saw a king cobra.
Last year they decided to stay in Tioman during the rainy season (!) and even to stay for some days with their tent inside the jungle.
One good day, their local guide rushed to them saying to them he had spotted a king cobra resting rolled-up somewhere in the forest, not far from the tent.
My friend Achim, patently happy and overexcited, ran instantly in that direction without shoes: the snake was no longer there. Behind Achim was his wife Rica, who saw something: “Pay attention: the king cobra is in front of you!”
Achim looked in front of himself, but there was apparently nothing to see, so he walked a little ahead again… In that instant the king cobra, a 4 meters long snake, thick like a man’s arm, was almost under his feet (Achim probably had thought, without consciousness, the huge yellow snake, resting stretched, was a big clear root among other forest roots!) when fortunately the snake decided in that moment to flee away. In a fraction of a second the huge yellowish snake disappeared in the forest: no time to do anything else for Achim.
In the picture below, taken in Agumbe, you can see the “optical impression” that a huge king cobra can make in the forest: if you don’t think about something “big”, or if you think about a dark snake (and the snake is instead pale!)… or if you expect to see a rolled snake and the snake is, instead, resting stretched, you can easily miss a 4 meters long snake under your feet.
So a good rule could be: never run and never think about something “predetermined” in your mind, but always move cautiously, watch carefully and expect the unexpected!
They went there so many times, but never saw a king cobra.
Last year they decided to stay in Tioman during the rainy season (!) and even to stay for some days with their tent inside the jungle.
One good day, their local guide rushed to them saying to them he had spotted a king cobra resting rolled-up somewhere in the forest, not far from the tent.
My friend Achim, patently happy and overexcited, ran instantly in that direction without shoes: the snake was no longer there. Behind Achim was his wife Rica, who saw something: “Pay attention: the king cobra is in front of you!”
Achim looked in front of himself, but there was apparently nothing to see, so he walked a little ahead again… In that instant the king cobra, a 4 meters long snake, thick like a man’s arm, was almost under his feet (Achim probably had thought, without consciousness, the huge yellow snake, resting stretched, was a big clear root among other forest roots!) when fortunately the snake decided in that moment to flee away. In a fraction of a second the huge yellowish snake disappeared in the forest: no time to do anything else for Achim.
In the picture below, taken in Agumbe, you can see the “optical impression” that a huge king cobra can make in the forest: if you don’t think about something “big”, or if you think about a dark snake (and the snake is instead pale!)… or if you expect to see a rolled snake and the snake is, instead, resting stretched, you can easily miss a 4 meters long snake under your feet.
So a good rule could be: never run and never think about something “predetermined” in your mind, but always move cautiously, watch carefully and expect the unexpected!
- Agumbe: male king cobra (in the centre) searching for a mate in the forest