Ray Dean Schmidt, age 14, of Ringwood, Okla., for his question:
WHAT IS THE KING COBRA?
Snake charmers and jugglers of India often use the cobra as part of their acts. They select the cobra because of its most unusual hood and its very nervous disposition. These men pretend to charm snakes with music. But snakes are deaf, and when they are being "charmed," they are only holding themselves on guard. They would do the same thing without the music.
A cobra is any of a group of poisonous hooded snakes. Cobras are nervous, and, when excited, they flatten their necks by moving their ribs. This movement gives the appearance of a hood.
In most snakes, the neck ribs are shorter than those farther back. In the cobra, however, the neck ribs are the longest. These ribs are almost straight instead of curved like those of the body.
Cobras can be found in Africa, Southern Asia and the East Indies, including the Philippine Islands. The king cobra of southeastern Asia is by far the largest of the group. It is also the longest poisonous snake known.
The king cobra reaches a length of 18 feet. It has a narrow hood. Most king cobras retreat from men and will attack only when they are surprised while guarding their eggs.
An Indian cobra grows to be about six feet long and is usually about six inches around. On the back of this snake's hood is a mark that appears to be a pair of spectacles. This creature is sometimes called the spectacled cobra.
Cobras use their deadly poison in two ways: some bite their victims with poison fangs in the front of the upper jaw while others squirt the poison directly at the eyes of victims.
Venom squirted by a cobra will not harm a human unless it gets into his eyes. It can cause severe irritation and even blindness if not washed out immediately. A cobra bite, however, is very dangerous and can cause death within a few hours.
Cobras are not so dangerous as generally believed because of the way they attack.
They prepare for battle by lifting up the front of the body without curving it like an S. An opponent can well judge how far a forward jab will reach.
The cobra moves slowly compared to some snakes. A person can easily knock down a rearing cobra by swinging a level stick.
A cobra's fangs do not deliver the poison nearly so well as the viper's. The cobra's are shorter and cannot be folded back. But cobras often chew an object after they have seized it and this helps inject the poison.