# King cobra (*Ophiophagus hannah*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/king-cobra  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a species in the family Elapidae. It has been recorded in 22 countries, most often in India, Thailand and Indonesia. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 22 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Squamata
- family: Elapidae
- genus: Ophiophagus
- species: *Ophiophagus hannah* (Cantor, 1836)

Synonyms: *Dendraspis bungarus*, *Dendraspis hannah*, *Hamadryas elaps*, *Hamadryas hannah*, *Hamadryas ophiophagus*, *Naja bungarus*, *Naja hannah*, *Naja ingens*, *Naja vittata*, *Ophiophagus elaps*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

India (483), Thailand (88), Indonesia (51), Malaysia (39), Philippines (29), Vietnam (29), China (19), Myanmar (Burma) (17), Hong Kong SAR China (16), Nepal (13), Bhutan (9), Netherlands (8), Singapore (8), Laos (6), Cambodia (3), Bangladesh (1), Brunei (1), Germany (1), Japan (1), Nigeria (1), Ukraine (1), United States (1)

## Common questions

### Where does the king cobra live?

The king cobra has openly licensed sighting records from 22 countries on GBIF. The most records come from India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the king cobra endangered?

The king cobra is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/king-cobra