Researcher photographing a rescued King Cobra at Division Forest Office, Palpa.

King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) found in South and Southeast Asia is the longest venomous snake in the world. It is very rare in much of its range, and has experienced local population declines of over 80% over 10 years in parts of its range. The King Cobra is a globally threatened snake species and has been listed as vulnerable in IUCN red list of threatened species (2010) and in Appendix II of CITES.

In Nepal, King Cobra has been recorded throughout Terai and up to 3500m. King Cobra is considered rare in Nepal but rigorous field study is crucial for the assessment of its precise conservation status. King Cobra has been listed as vulnerable in the National Red Data Book of Nepal since 1995 but Shah and Baral (2010) recommended the King Cobra to be included in Nepal Government’s National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973 in contingent to level of different threats and rareness. King Cobra has also been recorded in Palpa district but not much is known about its status, distribution and threats to its survival. Thus, this project aims to understand its status and distribution in Palpa district, a western mid-hill district of Nepal. The project will try to develop better understanding on abundance, distribution, habitat condition and threats to its survival. However, awareness raising on conservation of King Cobra is another major purpose. Dissemination of knowledge and information to concerned government authorities, conservationists and community members regarding religious, cultural, medical and ecological importance of this 'royal' creature will be done through various means like awareness programs, brochures, posters, newspaper, radio programs, interactions, etc.

The project focuses on increasing people's tolerance towards King Cobra and encourages living in harmony. Thus, the motto of this project is 'Living with King Cobra'. Formation of King Cobra conservation groups and training the members on rescue and data keeping of various incidents related to King Cobra will help save lives of humans and snakes and also gather scientific data.