"King cobras, the world's longest venomous snakes, are popping up in parts of India where they have no business beingand it turns out they may be inadvertently boarding trains to get there. In addition to alarming passengers in something of a real-life spin of the 2006 movie Snakes on a Plane, the reptiles can end up in places where they can't survive and, if antagonized, may pose a potentially fatal threat to humans."
"They used climate models to map the suitable habitat for the Western Ghats king cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga), a snake newly recognized as its own species in 2024 and found in the state of Goa. Of the 47 places Western Ghats king cobras were rescued across the state between 2002 and 2024, five were completely unsuitable locations, including one snake found in a port city around 120 kilometers away by train from its natural range."
Reports show king cobras and other snakes increasingly turning up in Indian railway stations, on trains, and near tracks. Climate models mapped suitable habitat for the Western Ghats king cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga), newly recognized as a species in 2024 and found in Goa. Of 47 rescue locations between 2002 and 2024, five were completely unsuitable for the species, with all outliers located within a few hundred meters of railway tracks or stations; one individual traveled about 120 kilometers by train from its natural range. Snakes displaced this way can reach inhospitable areas and may pose risks if provoked.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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