He's not winging it though. This approach is based in some solid knowledge.
He's perhaps a bit fidgety and would have been successful at the very first attempt if he didn't panic. But, he's also dealing with the world's largest venomous snake, in the field, in a cramped space in less than ideal conditions and the sped up video does him absolutely no favours.
Didn't know this, thanks for sharing. TIL that split was proposed in 1864 (Günther) and finalized in 1945 (Bogert). Before that, King Cobra was in genus Naja (true cobras); was moved to its own genus, Ophiophagus ("snake-eater", as mentioned). In 2024, genetic studies revealed that Ophiophagus hannah represented 4 distinct species, so O. bungarus, O. kaalinga, and O. salvatana were added to the genus
Ophiophagus (literally snake eater) hannah of the elapidae family. There's an exotic pet store not far from me, the owner had one, aptly named Elvis. Snake passed away a few years ago but he was a sight to see. He would roar instead of hiss, and I was like "do they all do that?" and the owner was like "King Cobras? Yeah, they roar instead of hissing."
I'm glad you pointed it out that king cobras aren't true cobras, people think all snakes kinda look the same and thus are all the same, when, for a creature with no facial expression, limited to no eyelids, no limbs with which to express themselves with, they are soooo diverse. Sorry, I had to nerd out, I appreciated your comment so much.
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u/Agile_Commission_693 4d ago
Yet*