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Deep within the jungles
of southern India,

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there lives a legendary king

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respected and feared by all.

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He is swift and strong and deadly.

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He is the largest
venomous snake in the world.

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But until now his life
has been a mystery.

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This is the story of a monarch
and his remarkable travels

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through a fragile kingdom.

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It is early on a cool morning

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when the king of snakes
embarks on a journey.

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His is an ancient forest
alive with creatures great and small.

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Like the king cobra himself

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many hover precariously
close to extinction.

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But on this morning

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the jungle pulses with the
sounds of insects and birds.

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A great Indian hornbill delicately
feeds his family

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hidden in their nest below.

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Through this jungle book world
the king roams great distances.

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Though his movements are quiet
those around always take notice

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for crossing the king cobra's path
could cost them their lives.

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Despite the uproar his presence causes
his world is mostly silent.

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He only hears the deepest of rumblings

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He has picked up the heavy footfalls
of a nearby elephant.

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Even the mighty pachyderm steers
clear of this serpent,

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for just one bite may bring death.

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But the king would strike such
a beast only in self-defense,

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for he feeds solely on snakes.

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Still, the langurs are cautious.

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Today, the king is not interested
even in snakes.

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He is searching for something else,
something very important.

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His eyesight is better
than most serpents'

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but he sees without color and
only registers objects when they move.

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He smells the air with his tongue.

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So acute is this sense,
he can use it to find water.

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And that's exactly
what he's looking for.

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Today, water is critical for the king
is about to shed his skin.

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He needs extra fluid to help
separate his old coat from his new.

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It is an uncomfortable time
for the king cobra,

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a new skin is developing
beneath his outer scales.

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He must find a place to hide
until it is time to shed.

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The king is unaccustomed
to his fragile condition.

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It is an uncertain time.

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At last he discovers a burrow.

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And none of the forest's creatures
wants to share quarters with the king.

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For the next ten days,
he will stay here.

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Irritable and tense,
he's sensitive to any movement nearby.

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Even the harmless wanderings
of a turtle unsettle the king.

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For his eyes have become cloudy
from a secretion

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which helps separate his skins.

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Half blind and vulnerable,
he is always ready to strike.

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At last his eyes begin to clear

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a sign his new skin
has finished growing.

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The king is back
but must still shed his old scales.

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His spent skin is tight and itchy.

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As he scrapes and rubs to
relieve the discomfort,

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his outer scales begin to peel.

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It is a remarkable transformation

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even his fangs, teeth,
and the tips of his tongue

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will be replaced again and again
during the course of his life.

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When the skin over his eyes lifts away
he is given new windows

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through which to view his world.

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At 12 feet long and still growing,

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the snake must endure shedding
four or five times a year.

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His discarded skin

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makes a perfect meal
for the smaller creatures of his realm.

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In this kingdom, nothing is wasted.

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After ten days without eating,
the king is hungry.

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A tree offers a good vantage point
for spotting prey.

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For his size,
the king cobra is an agile climber.

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Now he waits and watches.

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A movement in the tree reveals another
hungry creature... a young hornbill.

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Its father has spotted something.

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The king cobra watches the hunt unfold

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A vine snake ribbons
across a nearby branch.

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Much smaller than the cobra,

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this nimble hunter is
no match for the hornbill.

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The little snake looks
as fierce as he can.

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But it is only a brave display.

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His venom is mild.

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The young hornbill gets the prize.

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And the king will
wait for bigger meals.

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Below on the forest floor
a rat snake is on the hunt.

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It is one of India's largest
non-venomous snakes.

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Quick and voracious,
it will take any small mammal.

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From his perch
the king spots the movement below.

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It is just what he's been waiting for.

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Silently, the king cobra
joins in the hunt.

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The rat snake follows a scent.

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Its sensitive tongue
has led it to prey.

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The king cobra is on their trail.

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As the rat snake prepares to attack,
the king closes in.

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In a flash, the rat escapes.

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And now, the hunter becomes the hunted

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Against the hooded death,
even a seven-foot snake hasn't a chance.

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The rat snake puffs up its throat
and lowers its tongue in threat,

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but it is a futile gesture.

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One strike delivers venom
and a crushing grip.

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The rat snake returns the attack

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but it's already doomed.

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Within minutes the giant cobra's venom
takes effect, paralyzing the prey.

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The heart stops pumping,
the lungs stop breathing,

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and the victim suffocates.

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The king cobra can easily
devour this large snake.

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His backward-facing teeth help
guide the victim down his throat.

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Digestion has already begun,

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for the king's venom helps dissolve
the rat snake from the inside out.

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Still, the king cobra
will linger over this meal.

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And for the days it takes
to absorb his prey,

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he'll have no need to hunt.

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But yet the king is restless.

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It is now the dry season
the time to find a mate.

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A new,
intoxicating scent fills the air.

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Some of the rain forest's trees

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have dropped their leaves
and begun to fruit.

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It is a joyous season for langurs.

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Across the forest the
jackfruits are ripening.

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Their sweet, pungent odor beckons.

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It's an irresistible lure to
creatures both small

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and great

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To reach the succulent flesh
within the 20-pound fruit,

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the prickly skin must first be peeled.

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It's a messy job for even
the most adept of elephants.

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She leaves a veritable
banquet in her wake.

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This is a season when king cobras
roam widely through the forest.

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But today the king's subjects
are distracted by the fruit.

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They take only passing
notice of his presence.

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The king still seeks a mate.

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And it's in this fruiting season
that he's most likely to find one.

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But it's not a female he encounters.

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It's a rival... a formidable male.

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A potent threat,
he must be driven away.

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Each is capable of killing
the other with a single bite.

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A strange duel begins

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an encounter rarely witnessed
and never before filmed.

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Rather than a fight to the death,

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the battle has evolved
into a ritualized dance.

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To win, one snake must force
the other's head to the ground.

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At last, there is a victor.

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It's the intruder.

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The king has been dethroned.

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Driven from his domain,
he must seek another.

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But the rain forests of southern India
are a finite land.

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As people press in,

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less and less remains
for the king cobra.

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Our king has no choice
but to leave the jungle.

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Fortunately for the king cobra...
water is no barrier.

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He is a gifted swimmer.

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But what lies ahead for the king?

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As the forest is cleared,
its creatures more and more

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frequently cross the border
into a strange new realm...

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the realm of civilization.

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But surprisingly,

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a tea plantation is a
welcome sight to the exiled king.

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Here there is thick vegetation
and an abundance of rat snakes.

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But this is no haven.

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For when king cobras
and people cross paths

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there is bound to be trouble.

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Just one glimpse of the legendary
king can cause panic

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and shut down a plantation for weeks.

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This cultivated land is not as rich as
the king cobra's old domain,

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but still,
he makes himself at home here.

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Yet he must be evicted if work
is to resume at the plantation.

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And even the king is no match for
humans who are determined and armed.

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Fortunately for the king,

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a special sort of
hunter has been called in.

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His weapons are simply
a stick and a sack

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to the amazement of his audience.

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In this part of India,
people know to call Rom Whitaker

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whenever a king cobra is on the loose.

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An American expatriate raised in India

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Whitaker has studied
these snakes for over 20 years.

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I'll leave the bag here.

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You take that path.
Okay.

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Careful, huh?
Yeah.

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I've been fascinated with
king cobras all my life.

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Anyone who likes snakes
knows that this is the super snake,

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the snake of all snakes.

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As I get to know it better,
it gets more and more amazing.

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Finding a king cobra in a
tea estate isn't very easy.

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I spent 20 days tracking one down.

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The bushes here are so thick that I
have to get down on my hands

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and knees to see
where the snake's gone.

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It's a dangerous proposition
even for Whitaker.

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After several snakebites,
he is now allergic to antivenin.

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The next bite could kill him.

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He's coming.

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I'm moving up ahead.

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Okay.

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With the serpent cornered,

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the challenge now is to complete the
capture without a terrible accident.

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The king cobra too is fragile.

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The stick could easily hurt him.

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He's big, he's really big.

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Back, back, back, back, back,
behind, behind, behind.

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I don't want to pull, man.

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I've been catching king cobras
for quite a few years.

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And I've evolved a system
which is quite gentle to the snake.

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When the serpent is trapped,
he tries to escape,

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lunging toward what appears
to be a dark hole.

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He's gonna go in.
He's gonna go in.

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Open the bag.

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Okay, good.
Watch it,

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he's gonna go in.
He's gonna go in.

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Watch out.
Okay, twist, man.

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This is one hell of a snake.

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Whitaker is not just a hunter.

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00:26:10,535 --> 00:26:12,867
He's a leading expert on king cobras

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and each capture is a precious chance
to learn more

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about this elusive species.

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To take detailed notes on the snake

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Whitaker has to
remove him from the bag,

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which is just
as dangerous as getting him in.

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00:26:30,088 --> 00:26:33,285
But he must be removed
to obtain a sample of his venom.

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The amount of venom this serpent can
inject through his fangs is astounding

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one bite can deliver
enough to kill 100 people.

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The procedure doesn't harm the snake.

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His venom is simply
saliva with a deadly twist.

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Good venom sample.

219
00:27:08,893 --> 00:27:10,724
Okay, shall we release him?
Yeah.

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The king cobra can produce
an unlimited supply.

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One, two, three.

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Few people are actually
bitten by king cobras,

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for they are reclusive serpents
whose home is deep in the forest.

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And this is where Whitaker
makes his release

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far from tea estates and people.

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After his encounter
with the human race,

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the king cobra seeks refuge.

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A patchwork of woods
and open grassland,

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this new home has all
he needs shelter and food.

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But there will also
be other king cobras.

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And now he is the newcomer.

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Cautiously, he slides
through the undergrowth.

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He senses something up ahead
a snake.

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Is it food?

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His tongue picks up a telltale scent.

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It's another king cobra,
but this time a female.

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The king may have found his queen.

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She stands on guard.

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She may be ready to mate,
but her bite is deadly.

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So he moves slowly.

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He tries to entice her.

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But his gentle overtures are rebuffed.

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Abandoning the subtle approach,
he becomes bolder.

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Perhaps this will excite her.

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With the female slow to respond,
the king's advances turn more urgent.

246
00:31:06,164 --> 00:31:09,793
Finally, she begins to show interest
sliding her long,

247
00:31:10,034 --> 00:31:11,934
sinuous body against his.

248
00:31:15,006 --> 00:31:17,531
At last, with their tails entwined
they mate.

249
00:31:23,915 --> 00:31:25,280
It's a lengthy affair

250
00:31:25,817 --> 00:31:29,378
this limbless embrace may last
as long as three hours.

251
00:31:33,524 --> 00:31:35,856
When the male withdraws
his crimson penis,

252
00:31:36,094 --> 00:31:37,425
the union is over.

253
00:31:41,866 --> 00:31:44,061
The two will go their separate ways,

254
00:31:44,335 --> 00:31:47,031
but the king has passed on his legacy.

255
00:31:50,174 --> 00:31:54,736
It is April, the season of serpentine
unions and approaching rains.

256
00:31:55,813 --> 00:31:58,407
Clouds signal a difficult time ahead.

257
00:32:13,031 --> 00:32:15,056
With eggs developing inside her,

258
00:32:15,300 --> 00:32:18,269
the female cobra needs
to feed more frequently now.

259
00:32:19,070 --> 00:32:21,630
In only 40 days,
she'll lay her clutch,

260
00:32:22,140 --> 00:32:24,233
just before the monsoon breaks.

261
00:32:32,350 --> 00:32:36,252
Rising humidity brings forth a new
generation of creatures.

262
00:32:42,126 --> 00:32:45,357
A hammerhead slug feels
its way across the earth.

263
00:32:57,175 --> 00:33:01,407
The female seems to be moving more
slowly as her eggs continue to grow.

264
00:33:01,779 --> 00:33:04,646
And her journey will become
more uncomfortable yet...

265
00:33:07,151 --> 00:33:11,315
for the moisture has triggered
sinister stirrings on the forest floor.

266
00:33:35,146 --> 00:33:41,142
Leeches... the bloodsuckers of the rain
forest come forth by the thousands.

267
00:33:42,086 --> 00:33:45,544
For the past six months,
they have been dormant in the soil.

268
00:33:47,759 --> 00:33:51,559
Now they are hungry for blood
any blood.

269
00:34:07,145 --> 00:34:08,703
From the moment they emerge,

270
00:34:08,946 --> 00:34:11,779
leeches hone in on
virtually any animal that moves.

271
00:34:17,188 --> 00:34:19,122
Once aboard the serpent,

272
00:34:19,357 --> 00:34:21,325
they make for the vulnerable
gaps between her scales.

273
00:34:26,264 --> 00:34:27,697
At this time of year,

274
00:34:27,932 --> 00:34:30,958
hardly an animal
in the jungle is spared this plague.

275
00:34:49,187 --> 00:34:52,520
As daylight fades,
there is at least some comfort.

276
00:34:52,957 --> 00:34:55,687
With twilight,
the jungle becomes cooler.

277
00:34:57,495 --> 00:34:59,588
In the brief dusk of the tropics,

278
00:34:59,897 --> 00:35:03,924
one world prepares to sleep
while another awakens.

279
00:35:19,717 --> 00:35:23,915
A multitude of tiny legs carries
a millipede through the darkness.

280
00:35:36,467 --> 00:35:37,866
Beneath a jackfruit tree,

281
00:35:38,102 --> 00:35:41,162
a porcupine makes an
evening meal of fallen fruit.

282
00:35:56,087 --> 00:35:57,315
On this moonlit night,

283
00:35:57,555 --> 00:36:01,491
the female king cobra
searches for a place to lay her eggs.

284
00:36:02,193 --> 00:36:04,354
Their survival depends on her choice.

285
00:36:05,129 --> 00:36:09,065
Temperature and humidity must be
just right if the eggs are to hatch.

286
00:36:14,272 --> 00:36:16,399
She sizes up a stand of bamboo.

287
00:36:19,377 --> 00:36:21,504
Her rustling startles the porcupine.

288
00:36:26,284 --> 00:36:28,844
Then something remarkable happens.

289
00:36:29,620 --> 00:36:34,114
She begins to gather bamboo leaves
with great sweeps of her body.

290
00:36:37,061 --> 00:36:39,291
She starts to build a nest.

291
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:47,160
It is an extraordinary feat for
a limbless animal to build a nest,

292
00:36:47,405 --> 00:36:51,432
and the female king cobra is the only
snake that does so.

293
00:36:53,277 --> 00:36:54,767
It is an exhausting task.

294
00:37:03,721 --> 00:37:08,624
As she toils, a slender loris in the
branches above begins his slow,

295
00:37:08,859 --> 00:37:10,451
nocturnal search for food.

296
00:37:11,028 --> 00:37:13,588
He takes only passing
notice of the stirrings below.

297
00:37:24,809 --> 00:37:27,937
The king cobra will continue to
gather leaves for hours

298
00:37:28,179 --> 00:37:29,646
before she is ready to lay.

299
00:37:47,665 --> 00:37:52,466
The loris is suddenly more attentive
the rustling below has stopped.

300
00:37:57,241 --> 00:38:01,337
It is well after midnight
and the cobra is laying her eggs.

301
00:38:33,811 --> 00:38:37,042
The eggs will slowly whiten
as their coating dries.

302
00:38:37,581 --> 00:38:41,449
It will take the mother much of the
night to layher clutch of leathery eggs

303
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:46,723
Meanwhile, her upstairs neighbor
has spotted a sleeping lizard.

304
00:39:18,989 --> 00:39:20,616
It's a lucky night for the loris.

305
00:39:29,900 --> 00:39:31,231
With 18 eggs laid,

306
00:39:31,469 --> 00:39:34,632
the mother cobra buries them beneath
another layer of leaves.

307
00:39:49,787 --> 00:39:53,780
Here she will rest, as the Indian sun
warms the forest again.

308
00:40:11,008 --> 00:40:13,738
The cobra's maternal duties
are far from over.

309
00:40:14,245 --> 00:40:15,473
For the next two months,

310
00:40:15,713 --> 00:40:19,843
she will guard her nest from
predators like the mongoose.

311
00:40:22,153 --> 00:40:25,816
This plucky little hunter will try his
luck with anything that looks edible.

312
00:40:40,604 --> 00:40:42,595
In a scene from Kipling's Jungle Book

313
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,037
it is the cobra against
the infamous mongoose.

314
00:40:54,452 --> 00:40:56,886
The mongoose is a notorious egg thief

315
00:40:57,121 --> 00:41:01,148
and one of the few creatures willing
to challenge a king cobra head on.

316
00:41:24,515 --> 00:41:27,609
The persistent little mongoose
angers the mother cobra.

317
00:41:28,052 --> 00:41:32,113
Towering three feet above him
she has no need to strike.

318
00:41:32,356 --> 00:41:34,517
She has made her message quite clear.

319
00:41:45,669 --> 00:41:49,867
On this humid, summer day,
others in the forest search for nests.

320
00:41:56,380 --> 00:41:59,645
Finding king cobra nests in the
wild is really difficult.

321
00:42:00,184 --> 00:42:02,084
So I've been offering rewards.

322
00:42:02,386 --> 00:42:05,014
But still, in 20 years,
I've seen only four.

323
00:42:13,197 --> 00:42:15,358
People think that a king cobra
on her nest is the most

324
00:42:15,599 --> 00:42:17,499
dangerous creature on earth.

325
00:42:26,076 --> 00:42:29,409
But what surprises me is that
they're actually shy and retiring.

326
00:42:30,781 --> 00:42:33,807
All I have to do is gently prod
the nest and off she goes.

327
00:42:34,919 --> 00:42:37,786
But I know she'll stick around just
to see what's going on.

328
00:42:40,424 --> 00:42:43,757
This is a great chance for me to learn
more about this wonderful reptile.

329
00:42:45,229 --> 00:42:47,424
Let's checkout the
condition of these eggs.

330
00:42:52,536 --> 00:42:55,664
Even with the mother guarding them
some of the eggs won't survive.

331
00:42:57,775 --> 00:42:58,867
Ah, here's a rotten one.

332
00:43:00,377 --> 00:43:04,245
In this nest there are 18 eggs and a
few of them will never hatch.

333
00:43:05,716 --> 00:43:07,081
God, there are leeches here too.

334
00:43:13,457 --> 00:43:14,754
I'll chuck the rotten one away.

335
00:43:15,726 --> 00:43:18,126
You better get them off your hands
before they start...

336
00:43:19,396 --> 00:43:21,057
Ah, they've never bothered me.

337
00:43:28,939 --> 00:43:29,963
Thirty point nine.

338
00:43:30,874 --> 00:43:32,273
Not bad. Pretty constant.

339
00:43:36,513 --> 00:43:37,480
Let's close up.

340
00:43:38,315 --> 00:43:41,614
When the researchers have
finished their task,

341
00:43:41,852 --> 00:43:44,218
they replace the eggs and rebuild the
mother's carefully constructed nest.

342
00:43:54,164 --> 00:43:57,031
Only after they've gone
will the mother return.

343
00:43:59,103 --> 00:44:02,436
Then she will resume
her watch for another month.

344
00:44:12,683 --> 00:44:15,948
A protective mother king cobra
is just one of many challenges

345
00:44:16,186 --> 00:44:19,019
for scientists working
in the rain forest.

346
00:44:21,425 --> 00:44:23,859
I've been wandering in these
forests for decades,

347
00:44:24,094 --> 00:44:26,153
and although we do keep
an eye open for elephants,

348
00:44:26,397 --> 00:44:29,298
I've never been attacked by anything
except the little creatures

349
00:44:29,533 --> 00:44:31,831
mites, ticks, leeches.

350
00:44:32,970 --> 00:44:34,096
Look at these suckers.

351
00:44:37,775 --> 00:44:41,040
Well, as gory as it looks,
it really doesn't hurt very much.

352
00:44:42,579 --> 00:44:44,979
Oh, that's a fat one.

353
00:44:46,116 --> 00:44:47,583
Look at that.

354
00:44:50,187 --> 00:44:52,519
The fish are eating them.

355
00:44:56,460 --> 00:44:58,257
Pulling them off does feel a bit weird

356
00:44:58,495 --> 00:45:00,429
And of course,
you go on bleeding for hours.

357
00:45:00,731 --> 00:45:02,756
But they don't really
seem to do you any harm.

358
00:45:03,100 --> 00:45:06,035
Soon leeches will be the
least of anyone's worries

359
00:45:07,705 --> 00:45:12,506
for it is July and at last the
monsoon arrives in earnest.

360
00:45:17,147 --> 00:45:18,944
Sweeping in from the Indian ocean,

361
00:45:19,183 --> 00:45:22,983
it will bring as much as 30 feet
of rain in a single season.

362
00:45:40,771 --> 00:45:43,638
The lashing rain will
test the king cobra's nest.

363
00:45:45,409 --> 00:45:48,139
The deluge may last for weeks.

364
00:46:37,027 --> 00:46:39,860
Though the nest is battered
it served its purpose

365
00:46:40,464 --> 00:46:43,433
the female and her eggs
have weathered the storm.

366
00:46:44,334 --> 00:46:47,428
After two months
the mother's long vigil is over.

367
00:46:48,005 --> 00:46:52,237
Instinct tells her to abandon the nest
before her infants emerge

368
00:46:53,076 --> 00:46:56,102
for she is a snake-eater by nature.

369
00:46:59,082 --> 00:47:02,142
Within the nest,
her eggs are stirring with life.

370
00:47:11,028 --> 00:47:13,895
Their mother glides off to hunt
her first meal in months.

371
00:47:14,398 --> 00:47:17,128
Her babies will now have
to fend for themselves.

372
00:47:19,503 --> 00:47:23,269
With a tiny sharp tooth
the first one tears open its shell.

373
00:47:25,542 --> 00:47:27,407
One by one the others follow.

374
00:47:38,322 --> 00:47:42,258
Soon the nest glistens with a dozen
miniature king cobras

375
00:47:42,492 --> 00:47:44,983
complete with venom and tiny fangs.

376
00:47:47,431 --> 00:47:48,921
For the first 24 hours

377
00:47:49,166 --> 00:47:53,193
the hatchlings remain near their eggs
as they absorb their nutritious yolks

378
00:47:53,437 --> 00:47:55,667
and take in the world
for the first time.

379
00:48:03,847 --> 00:48:06,281
At last they start
to explore their nest.

380
00:48:24,534 --> 00:48:27,367
The pencil-thin babies are
just 15 inches long,

381
00:48:27,604 --> 00:48:29,367
but already they act
like their parents.

382
00:48:29,973 --> 00:48:32,874
Quick to respond to movement
they spar with each other.

383
00:48:33,243 --> 00:48:36,644
Then, instinctively
most leave the nest and climb into

384
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:39,781
the bamboo above for safety.

385
00:49:01,104 --> 00:49:02,935
But one youngster lingers below.

386
00:49:03,573 --> 00:49:06,098
Instead of leaving the
dangerous forest floor,

387
00:49:06,343 --> 00:49:08,937
this hatchling is drawn
to the water for a drink.

388
00:49:09,980 --> 00:49:11,538
It will be a costly mistake.

389
00:49:17,287 --> 00:49:18,777
A crocodile is watching.

390
00:50:03,867 --> 00:50:06,028
Beneath the other more
cautious hatchlings,

391
00:50:06,269 --> 00:50:09,067
the mongoose returns
to the abandoned nest.

392
00:50:09,339 --> 00:50:11,102
He's rummaging for leftovers.

393
00:50:14,244 --> 00:50:16,542
He devours a king cobra
that never hatched.

394
00:50:50,213 --> 00:50:54,479
In just a week, one of the hatchlings
sheds his skin for the first time.

395
00:50:54,985 --> 00:50:57,579
He will shed every month
for his first year,

396
00:50:57,821 --> 00:51:00,346
since baby king cobras grow quickly.

397
00:51:19,142 --> 00:51:22,236
Now the hungry hatchling must
search for his first kill.

398
00:51:38,962 --> 00:51:40,327
He spots his prey

399
00:51:42,332 --> 00:51:44,197
a little olive water snake.

400
00:52:01,718 --> 00:52:04,778
At this age, the baby king cobra can
barely make enough venom

401
00:52:05,021 --> 00:52:07,546
to kill a tiny creature like this.

402
00:52:08,225 --> 00:52:10,921
But his hunting form is
already impeccable.

403
00:52:11,661 --> 00:52:14,858
He spreads his ribs
and makes a perfect little hood.

404
00:52:25,408 --> 00:52:27,000
With his first successful kill,

405
00:52:27,244 --> 00:52:31,408
the little cobra is well on his way
to becoming the next king.

406
00:52:36,553 --> 00:52:39,579
In ten years, he may grow to 15 feet.

407
00:52:39,890 --> 00:52:41,357
But only with luck.

408
00:52:42,292 --> 00:52:44,852
For the forests of southern India
are shrinking.

409
00:52:45,595 --> 00:52:49,691
In such a changing world
the hatchling's prospects are unsure.

410
00:52:58,041 --> 00:52:59,872
What will become of the little king?

411
00:53:00,644 --> 00:53:03,204
Will he be banished
to the realm of legends,

412
00:53:03,446 --> 00:53:05,641
remembered only in a storybook?

413
00:53:09,719 --> 00:53:11,050
For today, at least,

414
00:53:11,288 --> 00:53:14,815
this mighty monarch rules
the fragile forest.

415
00:53:15,158 --> 00:53:16,819
For he is king.