A UNIQUE NEST BUILDER

The king cobra is the only snake to build a nest, the female coiling her body to gather each load of leaf litter. The species is common in the oil palm plantations of Kalimantan, Indonesia, but since the only leaves lying on the ground are long, unwieldy palm fronds, female king cobras are challenged to build their nests there. They can’t move the heavy fronds, nor are palm leaves appropriate material for building rainproof nests. Preliminary results of radio telemetry research indicate the animals may gorge on Sumatran cobras in the palm plantations but retreat to neighbouring mangrove areas to nest.