Editing King cobra (section)

=== Diet ===
[[File:A royal meal.jpg|thumb|Preying on a smaller snake]]
The king cobra is an [[apex predator]] and dominant over all other snakes except large [[Python (genus)|pythons]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Marshall, B.M. |author2=Strine, C.T. |author3=Jones, M.D. |author4=Theodorou, A. |author5=Amber, E. |author6=Waengsothorn, S. |author7=Suwanwaree, P. |author8=Goode, M. |title=Hits close to home: repeated persecution of King Cobras (''Ophiophagus hannah'') in northeastern Thailand |journal=Tropical Conservation Science |year=2018 |volume=11 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1177/1940082918818401 |doi-access=free|hdl=10150/632917 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Its diet consists primarily of other snakes and [[lizards]], including [[Indian cobra]], [[banded krait]], [[rat snake]], [[Pythonidae|pythons]], [[green whip snake]], [[Rhabdophis|keelback]], [[Lycodon fasciatus|banded wolf snake]] and [[Blyth's reticulated snake]].<ref name="Wall1924" />
It also hunts [[Malabar pit viper]] and [[Hypnale|hump-nosed pit viper]] by following their odour trails.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bhaisare, D. |author2=Ramanuj, V. |author3=Shankar, P. G. |author4=Vittala, M. |author5=Goode, M. |author6=Whitaker, R. |year=2010 |title=Observations on a wild King Cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah''), with emphasis on foraging and diet |journal=IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=95–102 |doi=10.17161/randa.v17i2.16088 |s2cid=257621424 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Singapore, one was observed swallowing a [[clouded monitor]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kurniawan, A. |author2=Lee, G. |author3=bin Tohed, N. |author4=Low, M.-R. |year=2018 |title=King cobra feeding on a monitor lizard at night |journal=Singapore Biodiversity Records |volume=2018 |page=63 |url=https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2018/01/sbr2018-063.pdf |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016221554/https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2018/01/sbr2018-063.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
When food is scarce, it also feeds on other small vertebrates, such as birds, and lizards. In some cases, the cobra [[Constriction|constricts]] its prey using its muscular body, though this is uncommon. After a large meal, it may go for many months without another one because of its slow [[Metabolism|metabolic rate]].<ref name="mehrtens" /><ref name="coborn" />