The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

Rural Surin

We might be the only life form that kills just for the sake of killing.

Attilla the Hen

Cats.

larvidchr

^Thanks

phuketbound

Cobra vs Rat Snake
Just for next time.

isdatu

I know a Irish bloke down the road whose name is Patrick. He swears he lives the life of a Saint. Maybe he could sort out the snakes issue for you Lars. No problems with more flooding and dekhead nieghbours as I don't think he's qualified yet in the parting of the heavens.

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larvidchr

Well I don't know, I think with my very limited knowledge about snakes the best option is to be very careful with them all and stay at a guaranteed safe distance, this one moved very casually and docile like though even when I was stressing it with the plastic pellets.

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I still pillage........................................... .................my fridge at night.

good2bhappy

scale markings on the head are distinctive

Happyman

A work camp I was on many years ago in Ar Ar - Saudi was infested with what they called ratsnakes - looked similar to the one on that YouTube clip- place was a cold store and was infested with rats as well !
Phillipino workers used to trap them and eat them !! ( rats and snakes!)

I stayed with my 'beef bacon"or "turkey ham" sandwiches thankyou !!!

Johnny Longprong

The Cobra is a bit of a pussy really. Although he can move very quickly, about 80kph, he is no match for the world's deadliest snake the Inland Tiapan or Fierce Snake of Australia. This fella is 750 times more venomous than the Cobra. The cobra doesn't even rate in the top 10 deadly snakes.
The Deadliest Snakes in the World « The Steve Irwin Mosaic Tribute Project

Whiteshiva

Bullshit - a normal person would have no problem outrunning a cobra - assuming of course, a cobra would be willing to pursue you - which is won't.

robuzo

The Inland Taipan is indeed an impressive snake, as is the Aussie Brown, but the King Cobra is no slouch- it is capable of delivering a huge amount of venom, and once fully grown it has virtually no natural enemies, including the mongoose, which is simply too small to kill one. The King is the only animal other than man capable of killing an adult elephant one-on-one. Also, Thailand does have a species of spitting cobra, which is about as nasty a customer as you could encounter. I've seen one in action, and "spraying cobra" would be a better description.

The majority of snakes one encounters in Thailand are either non-venomous or only mildly so, like the rear-fanged vine snakes or some of the very common keelbacks. The most deadly snakes in Thailand, the kraits (land and sea) and coral snakes, will not bite in defense unless trod upon or handled roughly. The majority of snakes, even big ones like pythons, are timid and will flee people quickly when given that option, but the most aggressive and ill-tempered snake in Thailand, the Russell's viper, while rather small is very willing to bite. Their venom is quite potent, and I believe they cause more deaths than any other Asian snake. I've seen them on offer at Chatuchak, for reasons I can only speculate about. I believe the one that accounts for the most bites is the White-Lipped Pit Viper Snakes of Southeast Asia : White-lipped Pit Viper - Trimeresurus albobrabis ; I saw one at night next to a footpath near Huay Kwang station in Bangkok. These are ambush predators which lie in wait rather than attracting attention by moving around. They rely more on the heat-sensing pits around their mouths than eyesight, and tend to strike at any warm body in range, such as a rat or a sandal-clad foot. Like a copperhead, their bite is rarely fatal, but it must hurt like hell.

Snakes are the most highly-evolved reptile, possessing a singular beauty. They are among the most effective predators of rats, which not only damage crops but through the diseases they both carry themselves and transmit through the fleas that infest them account for far more human death and misery than snakes. Asian people generally seem to understand this better than Europeans; while St. Patrick receives praise for banishing Ireland's snakes, one might like to ask him why he got rid of this clean and generally unobtrusive friend to man while leaving the rats behind.

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nidhogg

Dude, the Irish had to live somewhere.

robuzo

Snap!

Mr R Sole

Surely better to try and coax it out of your garden..as for territorial..usually only because there is a food source..

Copperhead racers also try to mimic the cobra...and puff out their necks..there are also mock vipers over here...tricky little buggers some of these guys..

Best advice leave well alone..get a reptile book..learn about the amazing nature we're so lucky to have here...(before the thai's kill em' all, and encourage us to do the same)
Something like 95% of all snake species in Thailand are non-venomous at least to us...something to think about....

Mass hissssss-teria (pardon the pun) why should that snake have been killed weren't your 'deliquents' (correct word used) in the snakes environment...and aren't we????????

Just because we can....what a lovely species we are...how superior...right on Rural..

Loy Toy

I hate to kill any creature but when you have children running around with some venomous snakes in the area you have to remove them unfortunately.

The last snake (rat snake) I found was in the pool and I managed to get her (she was pregnant) over the fence and into the Klong so hopefully she won't come back.

The number of dogs that have been killed by cobra's in my area is high but since they have cleared most of the land for the motor way the cobras have disappeared as well.

Lovely creatures and it is a shame if they all have been killed off.

Johnny Longprong

Yes, bullshit. 18 would be more like it. No, he most likely won't chase you. He will probably want to get away.

robuzo

Actually, more like 8 kph. The only snake that can close to 18 is the black mamba, which apparently, like the king cobra, is territorial when nesting and might chase a person.

Johnny Longprong

Yes, for sure you are dead right there. The Western Taipan is the one that really worries me. I had a close encounter with one whilst opening a gate in Western Queeensland, a thousand kilometres from anywhere. Shit was trumps.

Queensland Museum - Snakes - Species Detail