Did King Cobra really guard 2 puppies who had fallen in a well? (snakes, snake)

[no kudzu]

It makes a wonderful story but I'm beginning to take stories like this with a grain of salt. We tend to attach human behavior and emotion to too many animals and I doubt a snake would guard 2 puppies. But I hope I'm wrong.

Do Circulating Images Show Puppies being 'Guarded' by a King Cobra?

[pentatonic]

I find that very unlikely. Although cool pic.

[Almrausch]

kudzu nice pic but I think there is more to that story than meets the eye I don't believe the puppies fell accidentally in the well. kudzu I have seen these wells in the Punjab/ India close up and personal and they are deep and from the outside there is no way a puppy ever could fall in one of them. Maybe all three were thrown in the well and knowing they would meet death maybe stuck together. Anyway that is just a thought in my head. The printed story sounds so much better. Hope I did not offend any one .

[no kudzu]

Alm- you are probably right. I guess there is no such thing as spay and neutering of pets in that part of the country so kittens and puppies are just thrown away like garbage. sad indeed.

[Back to NE]

They say king cobras are especially intelligent reptiles, so maybe this one is trying to help the pups out. And the pups appear to be too big for the snake to consider them a food source.

[NVplumber]

A snake, any snake, is a very base animal. I find it highly unlikely that a snake would protect anything, but its own, personal space. It is a cool story, maybe Disney can make a couple mill on an animated movie. Lol.

One thing more about snakes. I do believe they get a bad rap. When a person is a sneaky, devious and unsavory type, often, they are called a snake. In reality, there is NOTHING dishonest about a snake. You know, exactly, where you stand with a snake. There is no subterfuge there. Mess with its space, you get bit. Straight up and no BS.

[picklejuice]

I'm surprsied the pic didn't show t*ts on the snake and suckling pups.

[banjomike]

Nah.

The cobra was concerned about the barking mother dog outside the well. Cobras are deaf, but they sense vocal vibrations well. Repetitive vibrations worry cobras, as a herd of cattle or elephants is very dangerous for snakes.
The snake could have eaten either pup that I saw. Reptiles have no emotions.

[Mathguy]

I've read up on snakes for a loooong time....a couple comments.

1) I'm not sure from the poor quality pics that is even a king cobra. I think it's just a large naja-naja....kings (ophiaphagus hannah) get waaaaaaaay bigger than that and tend to be lighter in coloration. Additionally, the hood spread seems a little wide for a king.

2) Ophiaphagus means "snake eater". Wild Kings pretty much eat snakes and lizards. This cobra is nowhere large enough to eat those puppies, not even remotely close. Even a large king, which would be triple the size of the snake shown would not really view those puppies as a food source.

[NJmmadude]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

I've read up on snakes for a loooong time....a couple comments.

1) I'm not sure from the poor quality pics that is even a king cobra. I think it's just a large naja-naja....kings (ophiaphagus hannah) get waaaaaaaay bigger than that and tend to be lighter in coloration. Additionally, the hood spread seems a little wide for a king.

2) Ophiaphagus means "snake eater". Wild Kings pretty much eat snakes and lizards. This cobra is nowhere large enough to eat those puppies, not even remotely close. Even a large king, which would be triple the size of the snake shown would not really view those puppies as a food source.

I agree with Mathguy, based on its appearance it looks like an Indian cobra. Admittedly I know more about snake behavior and ecology in North America than worldwide, but considering that the snake is an ectotherm, I'm sure that the snake was down there sheltering and/or regulating body temp, but not guarding the pups. It's interesting that the pups didn't get curious and start nudging around the snake and get themselves bitten, but I can't imagine that the snake was anything more than indifferent about them being there.

I agree with NVPlumber, snakes get a terrible rep and should be actively conserved, even the more common species like garters. Snakes play a very important role in regulating rodent population numbers, and play an otherwise important role as both predators and prey in ecosystems. It's foolish to harm them unless a child is in imminent danger of a bite by a venomous snake or something along those lines.