Snakes on trains: King cobras are 'hopping railways' to unsuitable habitats in India

King cobras are the world's longest venomous snakes. So, imagine seeing one a few feet away as you embark on a train in India. The Western Ghats King Cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga)—a vulnerable king cobra species found in India's Western Ghats—has reportedly been caught aboard many trains in the Goa region of India. A new study, published in Biotropica, takes a closer look at these reports, where these snakes end up and whether this strange mode of animal migration is putting snakes into unsuitable habitats.

source https://phys.org/news/2026-01-snakes-king-cobras-railways-unsuitable.html