iStockphoto / Wirestock / DikkyOesin
enormous king cobra snake in front of a sign warning about snakes in the area
What turned out to be the world’s largest venomous snake caught everyone by surprise. A massive King Cobra snake was spotted slithering out of an apartment window and passersby captured it on camera.
The wild encounter took place at an apartment building in China, as King Cobras are native to parts of Asia ranging from India to Southeastern Asia and Southern China. To be clear, it is not believed that this was a pet and according to reports the massive snake emerged from a nearby hill.
King Cobra Weighing 18 Pounds Slithers Out Of Apartment Window
In a video that was shared by TMZ on social media, the enormous snake can be seen navigating its way around the bars protecting the apartment windows. These are very fast snakes and capable of reaching speeds of 12-13 MPH and at the upper end they can grow up to 18 feet long, making them the world’s longest venomous snakes.
The absolute largest specimens can weigh upwards of 20lbs so this one was certainly on its way to being a giant amongst its species. Thankfully for the residents of the apartment building in Liupanshui, a city in southwestern China, nobody was caught unaware and ran afoul of the massive snake. Check it out below:
😰🐍 Talk about a nightmare neighbor … residents of an apartment building in China got the scare of a lifetime when a massive, nearly 18-pound king cobra came slithering right past their windows … and it's all on video.
🎥: Marija Stojkoska/NEWSFLASH pic.twitter.com/oFBjrM8eUa
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 29, 2026
According to the initial report from TMZ, one resident told a local media outlet that he had never in his life seen a king cobra so large in this region. This was truly a dinosaur-sized snake.
Are King Cobras Actually Cobras?
For the uninitiated, the King Cobra is a living legend within the animal kingdom. They are the longest venomous snakes on earth but technically these Kings are even real Cobras! While they look like cobras (with the hood), and act like cobras, they are the only member of the genus Ophiophagus. This video spells out the myriad of ways these snakes are unique:
For what it is worth, Florida and Australia have a global reputation as being home to an untold number of creatures capable of causing agony in human beings but neither place is home to the king cobra and as a born-and-raised Floridian I am certainly thankful for that. There are already enough creatures around that I have to watch out for and an 18-foot venomous king cobra is not something I ever want to cross paths with.