Photographer captures king cobra strike

Photographer captures king cobra strike
Photographer captures king cobra strike




It's the sight nobody wants to see directly in front of them - a deadly king cobra ready to strike.

British photographer Tom Charlton captured this spine-chilling image of the venomous snake in attack position.

Taken in Thailand's Krabi province in February, the image suggests it could have been Tom's last picture - but thankfully, the world's longest venomous snake was just trying to scare him away.

Photographer captures king cobra strike
Photographer captures king cobra strike



Tom explains: "For the last 12 years, I have been travelling out to Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Cambodia and Indonesia to find and photograph Asian reptiles and amphibians.

"Throughout these trips, the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah - one of the most well known and iconic venomous snakes in the world - has been at the top of my list of target species to photograph.

"During my most recent trip to Krabi province, Southern Thailand, in February, I realised a dream of finally finding and photographing a 3 metre king cobra, and was able to get the shots I had always wanted to get of this species.

Photographer captures king cobra strike
Photographer captures king cobra strike



"Despite their fearsome reputation, king cobras are actually extremely shy and elusive and generally will always prefer to flee from humans rather than have a confrontation, with this being the main reason why they are so difficult to turn up in the wild.

"We spent a short amount of time photographing the one that we found and whilst following the snake along a stream, a lucky click of the camera allowed me to get this 'striking' shot just as it changed direction.

"What appears to be an attack, is actually a defensive posture designed to intimidate, to help this snake avoid having to bite and waste its precious venom. We then watched as the king cobra disappeared back into the forest."




Man Kisses King Cobra
Man Kisses King Cobra


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