<P> King cobras are sexually dimorphic in size, with males reaching larger sizes than females, which is an unusual trait among snakes whose females are usually larger than males . The length and mass of the snakes highly depend on their localities and some other factors . </P> <P> The king cobra typically weighs about 6 kg (13 lb). The longest known specimen was a captive one at the London Zoo, and grew to around 18.5 to 18.8 ft (5.6 to 5.7 m) before being euthanised upon the outbreak of World War II . The heaviest wild specimen was caught at Royal Island Club in Singapore in 1951, which weighed 12 kg (26 lb) and measured 4.8 m (16 ft), though an even heavier captive specimen was kept at New York Zoological Park and was measured as 12.7 kg (28 lb) at 4.4 m (14.4 ft) long in 1972 . Some viper species, such as the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and the Gaboon viper, often much shorter in length but bulkier in build, rival the king cobra in average weight . </P> <P> The king cobra is distributed across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the southern areas of East Asia (where it is not common), in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and southern China . In India it has been recorded from Goa; Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu; east coastline of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha; Sundarban mangroves; Himalayan foothills from Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern parts of West Bengal to most of the north - east region and Andaman Islands . Type locality Sundarbans . It lives in dense highland forests, preferring areas dotted with lakes and streams . King cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range because of the destruction of forests and ongoing collection for the international pet trade . It is listed as an Appendix II animal within CITES . </P> <P> A king cobra, like other snakes, receives chemical information via its forked tongue, which picks up scent particles and transfers them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobson's organ) located in the roof of its mouth . This is akin to the human sense of smell . When the scent of a meal is detected, the snake flicks its tongue to gauge the prey's location (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it also uses its keen eyesight; king cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m (330 ft) away . Its intelligence and sensitivity to earth - borne vibration are also used to track its prey . </P>

What does a king cobra's habitat look like