King Cobra----You Wouldnt Want To Mess With This Snake Ever....

Just the other day,i was chilling at home,watching my favourite National Geographic channel on cable when there's this documentary that came up about snakes.Now the mention of snakes brings me straight back to Thailand when i was there with my family a couple of years back and we had gone to a snake farm.....And yes,its a Cobra Farm.

I was just thinking,lets do a blog posting on this beautiful highly dangerous reptiles.Trust me guys,u wouldnt wanna mess with this fellas unless u thinking of visiting heaven as your next destination.

Today,we embark on the journey of discovery into the realms of the mighty King Cobra.

The King Cobra is the world's longest venomous snake,with a length that can be as large as 6.7 m (22 ft).This species is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India,but found mostly in forested areas.

Its genus name,Ophiophagus,literally means "snake-eater",and its diet primarily consists of other snakes,including sizeable pythons and even smaller members of its own species.The venom of the King Cobra is primarily neurotoxic,and the snake is fully capable of killing a human with a single bite.The mortality rate from a bite can be as high as 75%.

The skin is either olive-green,tan or black and it has faint,pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body.The belly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth.The head of a mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance,though like all snakes,they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items.

It has proteroglyph dentition,meaning it has two short,fixed fangs in the front of the mouth which channel venom into the prey like hypodermic needles.The male is larger and thicker than the female. The average lifespan of a King Cobra is about 20 years.

Widespread,but not common,across South and South-east Asia.It lives in dense highland forests.The snake has a preference for living in areas dotted with lakes and streams.King Cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range due to the destruction of forests,but despite this the snake is not listed by the IUCN as in danger of becoming extinct.

The King Cobra's venom is primarily neurotoxic and thus attacks the victim's central nervous system and quickly induces severe pain, blurred vision,vertigo,drowsiness,and paralysis.In one to two minutes,cardiovascular collapse occurs,and the victim falls into a coma.Death soon follows due to respiratory failure.

Despite the King Cobra's fearsome reputation and deadly bite, it is a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with humans as often as possible.

Well now that we're all excited about the King Of Snakes,lets have some visual treat of this guys in action.Below are some videos for you guys to check out and raise your blood pressures up a notch. ~Cheers~ =)

Taj Mahal--One Of the 7th Wonders Of The World--Built Out Of Love

Just done watching Slumdog Millionaire and in one of the screen shots,i came upon the ever most beautiful architecture,the Taj Mahal and was thinking,hey,wat a great topic for a blog posting and here i am,my friends,bringing you through the journey of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra,India,built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife,Mumtaz Mahal.

In 1631,Shah Jahan,emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity,was griefstricken when his third wife,Mumtaz Mahal,died during the birth of their fourteenth child,Gauhara Begum.

The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrates the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.The construction of Taj Mahal begun soon after Mumtaz's death with the principal mausoleum completed in 1648.The surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture,a style that combines elements from Persian,Ottoman,Indian,and Islamic architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component,the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures.Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653,and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen.

The focus of the Taj Mahal is the white marble tomb,which stands on a square plinth consisting of a symmetrical building with an iwan, an arch-shaped doorway,topped by a large dome.Like most Mughal tombs,basic elements are Persian in origin.

The Taj Mahal attracts from 2 to 4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus.

This one place i so need to visit during my lifetime.A structure built with love,for love and by love.As always,i attached videos of Taj Mahal below,its history and its beauty.Enjoy guys. =)