by Teresa Teo Guttensohn, Photos by Vnyx Sng, 2 Feb 2025

Here’s a majestic, native Sunda King Cobra (Ophiophagus bungarus) to welcome the new spring of 2025. Sighted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore on Sunday, 2 February 2025, by Elena and Vnyx Sng.

The King Cobra is the world’s largest venomous snake. It has very potent neurotoxic venom and it’s bite and subsequent envenomation is deadly. If you spot the rare snake in our forests, always admire from a respectful distance. King Cobras predominantly eat other snakes.

Also spotted were many other amazing wetland wildlife.

The King Cobra, once thought to be a single species, has been re-categorised into four species:

Northern King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

Sunda King Cobra (Ophiophagus bungarus) found in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and parts of the Philippines.

Western Ghats King Cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga)

Luzon King Cobra (Ophiophagus salvatana)

In 2024, ACRES’s animal crime investigation unit handled 15 tip offs related to individuals keeping or selling snakes illegally in Singapore, in comparison to 4 cases in 2023. In the previous year of snake in 2013, there was a surge of ball pythons rescues found abandoned or surrendered to ACRES. All snakes are not permitted to be kept or sold as pets in Singapore, and we encourage public to let them be in the wild, and report of anyone selling or keeping them to NParks or at https://tinyurl.com/ACRESCRIME —Anbarasi Boopal, ACRES Co-CEO (Advocacy)