King cobras use vegetation and canals in Thailand farmland study

King cobras tracked in northeastern Thailand moved less in agricultural areas and used remaining natural vegetation to travel through farmland, according to a study described in the report. Researchers followed seven snakes at Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve in Nakhon Ratchasima province between March 22, 2014, and July 28, 2018.

The reserve includes protected forest, a buffer undergoing reforestation and a transition area growing rice, corn and sugar cane. That farmed landscape also contains 159 villages and a four-lane highway linking Nakhon Ratchasima with Bangkok.

The team recorded locations roughly four times daily using implanted radio transmitters and triangulation. Researchers tried to remain at least 10 metres from the animals while tracking them.

Habitat links alongside cultivated fields

Movement tended to increase in forest and decline in agricultural landscapes. King cobras passing through farmland used scrub and other vegetation that was not actively cultivated, including field margins, disused plots and irrigation canal edges.

The researchers identified these patches as routes through a fragmented environment. Vegetation and water might provide cover and potential prey, but the study did not directly establish whether prey was more abundant there.

Responses varied between individual snakes. The team found no consistent evidence that they avoided roads or settlements, despite the risks of collisions and encounters with people.

The snakes stayed at shelter sites for an average of 2.3 days and returned to previously used places about every 13 days. Their time in human-disturbed areas varied widely, from 0.7 per cent to the entire tracking period.

The researchers suggested retaining connections through forest fragments and canals, examining road crossings with fencing, and improving humane snake-removal services. They cautioned that seven animals formed a small sample, so the results should not be assumed to describe every population across the species' range.

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