Studying Niches Biology Andrés Bereznev

The King Cobra

Feeding(Fundamental Niche)

The King Cobra preys on birds, fish, snakes, frogs, chicks, toads, lizards and bird's eggs which form its main diet.

Spatial(Realized Niche)

The king cobra is distributed across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the southern areas of East Asia. Lives in dense highland forest preferring areas dotted with lakes and streams.

Temporal(Fundamental Niche)

King cobras are able to hunt throughout the day, and it is rarely seen at night.

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Studying Niches Biology Andrés Bereznev

Behavioural(Fundamental Niche)

The King cobra receives chemical information via its forked tongue, which picks up scent particles and transfers them to a special sensory receptor located in the roof of its mouth. For the envenomation, the king cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. King cobras, like all snakes, have flexible jaws.

Reproductive(Fundamental Niche)

The eggs are incubated at a steady 28 °C. When the eggs start to hatch, instinct causes the female to leave the nest and find prey to eat so she does not eat her young. A female usually deposits 20 to 40 eggs into the mound, which acts as an incubator, and the babies take 60-90 days to hatch.

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