A reader sent me this small image of a young king cobra found in Laos while he was on vacation in Laos. The king cobras in the northeast of Thailand are dark like this – black even, and they all have these light colored bands across the body. This one looks to be a juvenile king cobra because even the head is banded. As the snake matures it loses that and the head becomes a solid color.
He said this cobra headed down the steps and into the Mekhong River.
Kings have a very wide range they spend time in. Some have recorded them traveling in a roughly 18 km wide area.