Secrets of the King Cobra

It's 14 feet long with almost 2 teaspoons of available venom. This is the King Cobra. Translated its scientific name means "snake eater". A King kills and consumes other snakes up to 10 feet long. All forest residents live in fear of him including human beings. But his empire is under threat? He's a resident of India the most populated part of the planet, and he's having to mix more and more with villagers. It is March in India's Western Ghats, and that means one thing for King cobras - finding a mate. Having been dormant for the last few months, they are now fully alert and hot on the trail of female pheromones. The trail leads them right through a crowded village. Enter Gowri Shankar a snake expert who responds to calls from panicked villagers. Instead of beating the snakes to death, Gowri carefully captures them and takes them to a place of safety. Little is known about these highly venomous snakes. Previous research and tagging projects have only started to scratch the surface into their elusive lives. Now for the second time ever in India, 4 Kings are being tagged with the hope it will uncover their secrets lives. The tagged snakes soon reveal an amazing world the bizarre behavior of the planets longest venomous snake. King cobras do things that other snakes don't. The female makes a huge nest out of leaves to protect and incubate her eggs, and the males "growl" at intruders to warn them off, of course their penchant for hunting and eating other big snakes makes them one of the most fascinating predators on Earth. Around Agumbe, in the Western Ghat forest, the King cobra has less and less space in which to survive. Its thought that these snakes need large ranges, and that they're being cramped. By tracking the tagged snakes we start to learn just how much space they need. (National Geographic)