Editing King cobra (section)

== Relationship with humans ==
=== Conservation ===
In Southeast Asia, the king cobra is threatened foremost by [[habitat destruction]] owing to [[deforestation]] and expansion of agricultural land. It is also threatened by [[wildlife smuggling]], as well as by [[poaching]], then sold as [[bushmeat]] or turned into snake leather, and for use in [[traditional Chinese medicine]].<ref name=iucn/>

The king cobra is listed in [[CITES Appendix II]]. It is protected in China and Vietnam.<ref name=iucn /> 
In India, it is placed under Schedule II of [[Wildlife Protection Act, 1972]]. Killing a king cobra is punished with imprisonment of up to six years.<ref name="TOIKC">{{cite news |title=King cobra under threat, put on red list |author=Sivakumar, B. |website=[[The Times of India]] |date=2012 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/King-cobra-under-threat-put-on-red-list/articleshow/14571226.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201000438/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-02/chennai/32507498_1_longest-venomous-snake-king-cobras-iucn |url-status=live |archive-date=2013-02-01}}</ref> In the [[Philippines]], king cobras (locally known as ''banakon'') are included under the list of threatened species in the country. It is protected under the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (Republic Act No. 9147), which criminalises the killing, trade, and consumption of threatened species with certain exceptions (like indigenous subsistence hunting or immediate threats to human life), with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and a fine of [[Philippine peso|₱]]20,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Republic Act No. 9147 |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2001/07/30/republic-act-no-9417/ |website=Official Gazette |publisher=Republic of the Philippines |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927021628/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2001/07/30/republic-act-no-9417/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=How venomous is a king cobra and what should you do if you see one? Kuya Kim answers |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/content/865108/how-venomous-is-a-king-cobra-and-what-should-you-do-if-you-see-one-kuya-kim-answers/story/?just_in |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=GMA News Online |date=26 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Danilo |title=5 King Cobra nakumpiska sa NBI entrapment |url=https://www.philstar.com/pilipino-star-ngayon/metro/2021/12/23/2149615/5-king-cobra-nakumpiska-sa-nbi-entrapment |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Pilipino Star Ngayon |date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

=== Cultural significance ===
{{Further|Snakes in mythology}}
The king cobra has an eminent position in the [[mythology]] and [[folklore]] of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.<ref name=Minton>{{cite book |author=Minton, S.A. Jr. |author2=Minton, M.R. |year=1980 |title=Venomous reptiles |url=https://archive.org/details/venomousreptiles0000mint |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |isbn=978-0-684-16626-1}}</ref>
A ritual in Myanmar involves a king cobra and a female snake charmer. The charmer is a [[priest]]ess who is usually tattooed with three [[pictogram]]s and kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the ritual.<ref name=Platt2012>{{cite journal |last1=Platt |first1=S.G. |last2=Ko |first2=W.K. |last3=Rainwater |first3=T.R. |year=2012 |title=On the Cobra Cults of Myanmar (Burma) |journal=Chicago Herpetological Society |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=17–20}}</ref> 
Members of the [[Pakokku]] clan tattoo themselves with ink mixed with cobra venom on their upper bodies in a weekly inoculation that they believe would [[mithridatism|protect]] them from the snake, though no scientific evidence supports this.<ref name=coborn>{{cite book |last=Coborn |first=J. |title=The Atlas of Snakes of the World |publisher=TFH Publications |year=1991 |pages=30, 452 |isbn=978-0-86622-749-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Murphy, J. C. |year=2010 |title=Secrets of the Snake Charmer: Snakes in the 21st Century |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-1-4502-2127-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmYFVB4HW_UC&pg=PA15}}</ref> It is regarded as the [[national animals of India|national reptile of India]].<ref>{{cite web |title=King Cobra – National Reptile of India |url=http://www.indiamapped.com/national-symbols-of-india/national-reptile/ |publisher=indiamapped |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117131517/http://www.indiamapped.com/national-symbols-of-india/national-reptile/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In India, the king cobra is believed to possess exceptional memory; according to a myth, the killer of a king cobra stays in the eyes of the snake as an image, which is later picked up by the snake's partner and used to hunt down the killer for [[revenge]]. Because of this myth, whenever a cobra is killed, especially in India, the head, if not the entire body, is either crushed or burned to destroy the eyes completely.<ref>{{cite web |title=King Cobra The King of Venomous Snakes |url=https://www.aboutanimals.com/reptile/king-cobra/ |website=aboutanimals.com |date=31 December 2015 |publisher=aboutanimals |access-date=5 November 2024}}</ref> <!-- In the nations of the Indian subcontinent, the cobra in general is also associated with the two principal gods of [[Hinduism]], [[Shiva]] and [[Vishnu]]. Shiva, the "destroyer" ascetic warrior, wears one around his neck. Vishnu is shielded from the sun by a gigantic five-headed cobra called [[Kaliya]], which was once his enemy. Serpentine inhabitants of the underworld known as ''[[Nagas]]'' also mostly resemble cobras.
<ref name ="Taylor">{{cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=David |title=King Cobra |year=1997 |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kingcobra/index-n.html |access-date=8 September 2007 |magazine=[[National Geographic Magazine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820143553/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kingcobra/index-n.html |archive-date=20 August 2007}}</ref> commented out as website doesn't work [It loads in IA but many images were lost to time; website is missing a lot of information. Furthermore, the cobras associated with deities are clearly not meant to represent any specific species of cobra, thus should be moved to the page linked in "further reading".]-->
In Bangkok's [[Bang Khun Thian district]] is a shrine to the king cobra by the [[Rama II Road]] that was built after the nest and young of a large king cobra was destroyed during the construction of the road; the overgrown area behind the shrine is still thought to harbour several large king cobras.<ref>{{cite web |language=Thai |work=Thairath |date=2025 |accessdate=2025-03-23 |title=ศาลเจ้าแม่จงอางและลูก อาถรรพณ์! ถนนพระราม 2 |trans-title=Shrine of the mother king cobra and her child, haunted! Rama II Road|url=https://www.thairath.co.th/lifestyle/culture/2848627}}</ref>
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