8 Difference Between Anaconda and King Cobra with Comparison Table

What is the difference between an anaconda and a king cobra?

Anaconda and king cobra are both the largest snakes in the world. They belong to different families. They are both semiaquatic animals and excellent swimmers. They live both on land and in water. King anaconda is a venomous snake while anaconda is a non-venomous snake.

The main difference between anaconda and king cobra is that anaconda gives birth to young ones while king cobra lays eggs.

Comparison Table (Anaconda vs King cobra)

Characteristics	Anaconda	King cobra
Classification	They belong to the family Boidae.	They belong to the family Elipedae.
Geographical location	They are found in tropical South America.	They are found in the plains of India, Southern China, and Southeast Asia.
Young ones	They just give birth to their young ones.	The female lays eggs and incubate them till they hatch.
Venom	They are non-venomous snakes.	They are venomous snakes.
How they kill their prey	They kill their prey by biting them and drawing them to the water and swallow them in one piece.	They bite their prey using the fangs and inject venom into their bodies and wait for them to die before swallowing them in one piece.
Behavior	They are mostly active in the evening and at night.	They are not active apart from when they are threatened and are the only snakes that build nests for their eggs.
Iconic	They do not lift their heads when they are threatened.	They lift their heads and spread their hood when they are threatened.
What they feed on	They eat a variety of animals.	They feed on other snakes.
Lifespan	They can live up to 30 years in captivity.	They live between 10 to 20 years.

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What is Anaconda?

Anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world. It is found in tropical South America. They are semiaquatic snakes that belong to the family Boidae. There are four species of anaconda. They are stocky, muscular snakes. They have thick necks and narrow but large heads. They have nostrils and eyes on top of their heads so that they may notice their prey when they are submerged in water.

They live in tropical rivers and grasslands. They spend most of their time swimming or lurking in the mud. They are active during the night to hunt for their prey. They kill their prey by biting them and drawing their prey in the water and then swallow it in one piece.

They give birth to young ones. During spring, females leave a scent trail to attract males. After mating, the females carry the embryos within themselves for seven months up to the time they give birth. After birth, the young ones are left on their own as they are able to hunt for small rodents.

What is King cobra?

King cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world. They belong to the family Elipedae. They are shy and will avoid humans at any cost. When they are threatened, they will lift their head up to a third of their bodies off the ground then move forward to attack.

When they get hold of their prey, they bite using their fang and inject venom into their prey’s body and wait for the prey to die before it swallows it in one piece.

The males mate with the female during spring. After that, the males leave to go on their own. The female incubates the eggs up to the time they will hatch. They are the only snakes that make nests for their eggs. After hatching the young ones are left on their own as they are able to hunt for small rodents and have already developed venom glands.

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Main Differences between Anaconda and King Cobra

Anaconda is a non-venomous snake while king cobra is a venomous animal.
Anaconda gives birth to their young ones while king cobra lays eggs and the females incubate them until they hatch.
Anaconda kills their prey by biting and drawing them to the water then swallow them in one piece while king cobra bites their prey and inject venom in their body and wait for them to die before they swallow them in one piece.
Anaconda does not display iconic posture when threatened while king cobra will lift its head and spread its hood when threatened.
Anaconda feeds on a variety of animals while king cobra feeds on other snakes.

Similarities between Anaconda and King Cobra

They are both reptiles.
They are both carnivores.
They both live in the same habitats.
They both swallow their prey in one piece.

In Conclusion

Anaconda and king cobra are the largest snakes in the world. Anaconda is a non-venomous snake while king cobra is a venomous snake. Anaconda kills its prey by biting it and drawing it into the river before it swallows it in one piece while king cobra kills its prey by biting it and injecting venom in its body then wait for it to die before swallowing it in one piece.

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