Editing King cobra (section)

=== Antipredator behavior ===
{{multiple image |direction=vertical |align=right |footer=Captive king cobras with their hoods extended
 |image1=Ophiophagus hannah2.jpg |image2=King-Cobra.jpg}}
{{Further|Anti-predator adaptation}}
The king cobra is not considered aggressive.<ref name=Tweedie>{{cite book |last=Tweedie |first=M. W. F. |title=The Snakes of Malaya |year=1983 |publisher=Singapore National Printers |page=142 |oclc=686366097}}</ref> It usually avoids humans and slinks off when disturbed, but is known to aggressively defend incubating eggs and attack intruders rapidly. When alarmed, it raises the front part of its body, extends the hood, shows the fangs and hisses loudly.<ref name=Wall1924>{{cite journal |author=Wall, F. |year=1924 |title=The Hamadryad or King Cobra ''Naja hannah'' (Cantor) |journal=The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=189–195 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalof301219241925bomb/page/n271}}</ref><ref name="Greene">{{cite book |last=Greene |first=H. W. |title=Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature |year=1997 |publisher=University of California Press |location=California, USA |isbn=0-520-22487-6 |chapter=Antipredator tactics of snakes |pages=103–111 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=io1TYkFAur8C&pg=PA111-IA1 |access-date=4 October 2020 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210091758/https://books.google.com/books?id=io1TYkFAur8C&pg=PA111-IA1 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Wild king cobras encountered in Singapore appeared to be placid, but reared up and struck in self defense when cornered.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Lim, K. K. P. |author2=Leong, T. M. |author3=Lim, L. K. |year=2011 |title=The king cobra, ''Ophiophagus hannah'' (Cantor) in Singapore (Reptilia: Squamata: Elapidae) |journal=Nature in Singapore |volume=4 |pages=143–156 |url=https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2017/06/2011nis143-156.pdf |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016154553/https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2017/06/2011nis143-156.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

The king cobra can be easily irritated by closely approaching objects or sudden movements. When raising its body, the king cobra can still move forward to strike with a long distance, and people may misjudge the safe zone. It can deliver multiple bites in a single attack.<ref name=Davidson>{{cite web |url=http://toxicology.ucsd.edu/Snakebite%20Protocols/Ophiopha.htm |title=Immediate First Aid |access-date=24 September 2011 |last=Davidson |first=T. |publisher=University of California, San Diego |archive-date=30 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630032005/http://toxicology.ucsd.edu/Snakebite%20Protocols/Ophiopha.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

The hiss of the king cobra is a much lower [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] than many other snakes and many people thus liken its call to a "growl" rather than a hiss. While the hisses of most snakes are of a broad-[[frequency]] span ranging from roughly 3,000 to 13,000&nbsp;[[hertz|Hz]] with a dominant frequency near 7,500&nbsp;Hz, king cobra growls consist solely of frequencies below 2,500&nbsp;Hz, with a dominant frequency near 600&nbsp;Hz, a much lower-pitched frequency closer to that of a human voice. Comparative anatomical [[morphometric analysis]] has led to a discovery of tracheal [[diverticulum|diverticula]] that function as low-frequency [[Resonating chamber (anatomy)|resonating chamber]]s in king cobra and its prey, the rat snake, both of which can make similar growls.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Young |first1=B. A. |doi=10.1002/jez.1402600302 |title=Morphological basis of "growling" in the king cobra, ''Ophiophagus hannah'' |year=1991 |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology |volume=260 |issue=3 |pages=275–287 |pmid=1744612}}</ref>