With a range that covers much of Asia, the king keeps a wardrobe that adjusts to suit several different habitats.
The king’s natural realm stretches from India eastward to Vietnam, southern China, and the Philippines, and southeast through Malaysia and Indonesia. Yet throughout its vast range the king cobra is not common anywhere, and in India it has become rare from habitat loss.
One of the king cobra’s natural habitats is the cool undergrowth of rain forests. It often stays near streams, where the temperature and humidity are relatively constant. It spends almost a fourth of its time up in trees or bushes, but also likes plains and mangrove swamps. As deforestation causes the king’s habitat to shrink, it can find itself in enemy territory—the human realm of tea estates and villages.
Depending in part on its habitat, a king cobra’s color varies from olive-brown to gray to a deep, shiny black. In general, royals in dark forests have darker skins, and those in open forest or plains have lighter skins.
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