World's longest venomous snake now lives in New South Wales
The longest venomous snake in the world is now living at a Central Coast reptile park.
Raja, a king cobra, is more than four metres long and weighs almost eight kilos.
King cobra bites are said to have a 50 per cent mortality rate and yield enough venom to kill an elephant.
Spare a thought for the keepers at The Australian Reptile Park who have to milk Raja’s venom during regular health checks.
“He’s an intimidating animal,” the park’s Dan Rumsey said.
“Raja is impressive, and a great ambassador for his species, educating over 240,000 people who visit the Reptile Park each year on how unique his species is and the challenges they face in the wild.”
The king cobra population has declined by about 80 per cent across Indonesia due to deforestation.
But the park hopes Raja, who has already fathered two clutches of king cobra babies, will father more through its breeding program.
