King Cobra is a cannibalistic snake

Snake-fight from The Star Online (extracts):

Hikers in Penang are not only talking about the upcoming political battle between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan but of another kind of close fight involving a huge cobra and a smaller python along a popular trail near Moon Gate next to the Penang Botanic Gardens.

The question of whether the two reptiles ended up in the cooking pot or whether they escaped into the bushes has become a hot topic of conversation at the Level Five hikers’ rest station.

The python measuring about 2.3m had coiled itself around the huge cobra which was more than 4m long and both were motionless for about two hours.

News of the snake-battle reached other hikers who rushed down to see the reptiles.

A female hiker said she was about to go up from Moon Gate at about 6pm when a group told her about the snakes.

“I got scared and didn’t hike after that,” she said.

Another hiker said the two snakes disappeared and may have slipped into the bushes.

“We don’t know which snake won the fight. The talk is someone may have caught the reptiles and bundled into a gunny sack to be sold to a restaurant.

“Some hikers saw several firemen walking up the trail. But after being told the snakes were gone, they left,” he said.

That was no snake fight but merely a King Cobra enjoying its meal. Note the snake was not an ordinary cobra but a King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah). It must have slithered away after its python-meal to relax, which explains why the firemen couldn't it by the time they arrived at the scene, wakakaka.

Extracts from Wikipedia:

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is also known as the hamadryad.

This serpent is the world's longest venomous snake. Adult king cobras are 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft) long. The longest known individual measured 5.85 m (19.2 ft).

Despite the word "cobra" in its common name, this species does not belong to genus Naja but is the sole member of its own.

It preys chiefly on other snakes and occasionally on some other vertebrates, such as lizards and rodents. It is a dangerous snake that has a fearsome reputation in its range, although it typically avoids confrontation with humans when possible.

The king cobra is a prominent symbol in the mythology and folk traditions of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It is the national reptile of India.

Its generic name, Ophiophagus, means "snake-eater", and its diet consists primarily of other snakes, including rat snakes, small pythons and even other venomous snakes such as cobras and the krait.

That was what the one in Penang Hill was doing, dining on a python.

About two or three years ago, a Malay snake expert (not the fireman who was killed by snake-bite recently) was called upon to catch a King Cobra spotted in Paya Terubong, Penang, which he subsequently took to the Melaka zoo.

“Snake king” Mohd Shaiful Abdul Aziz, 21, was summoned when firefighters from the Jalan Perak fire station and Paya Terubong voluntary squad failed to catch the snake after trying for an hour on Saturday.

He caught the reptile (5.4 metres and 15 kg), which was hiding among the bushes, with his bare hands in just 10 minutes, and with the help of his brother, Mohd Shamsul, 19

Penang has a 130 million-year old rainforest which may explain why it harbours enormous pythons (one caught recently measured 10 metres but alas, it died almost immediately after capture) and King Cobras.

biggest in the world but alas, not counted because it died before being measured by proper authority 

The King Cobra is generally a shy snake and will avoid human beings UNLESS it is cornered or attacked. Because of its size and the amount of venom it injects in its prey, it's said one of its bite contains enough venom to bring down about 20 adult human beings or even an elephant.

It is the ONLY snake in the world which actually builds a nest for its eggs, between 20 to 50 in each batch, and then stands guard over it as the eggs hatch in the warmth of the nest (28 degrees).

But natural instinct compels it to leave the nest when those are about to be hatched as, don't forget, Mum is an Ophiophagus or snake-eater, wakakaka.

There are lots of King Cobras, especially in Kerala, and you would never have guessed, that the biggest currently in the world at 17 feet long has been found there.

Just an important reminder, it's called an Ophiophagus for good reason, wakakaka.