Local residents in China's Yunnan province have discovered three king cobra nests, including one containing 72 eggs, the largest clutch ever recorded for the species in published research. The finds, made between 2020 and 2025, gave scientists rare data on how king cobras reproduce, according to a study published in the journal Integrative Conservation and reported by The Times of India.
The three nests were found in different parts of Yunnan and held 30, 72 and 25 eggs respectively. The most unusual was the nest near Kunming, where researchers recorded two adult king cobras guarding the same clutch at once.
The Kunming discovery
Local residents found the nest on June 6, 2024, in a mixed forest west of Kunming. It was built from pine needles. When scientists returned to the site on July 1, both snakes were still guarding it.
One cobra measured about 1.8 metres long, while the other was more than 2 metres. The nest itself stood roughly a metre tall and 1.5 metres wide. Inside, researchers found 72 eggs positioned about half a metre above the ground, with the internal temperature measured at around 35 to 40 degrees Celsius.
Scientists were unable to determine the sex of either snake, so they have not ruled out the possibility that two females were involved in producing the unusually large clutch. They stressed this is only one possible explanation.
An unusually large clutch
Previous research had found that king cobra clutches typically contain between 14 and 37 eggs. The 72-egg nest near Kunming is now the largest clutch documented in published studies of the species.
Two more nests, more data
The other two nests also gave researchers valuable information. The first was found in 2020 in a bamboo forest at an altitude of about 1,730 metres. It held 30 eggs, with an adult king cobra that researchers believed to be female nearby.
The third nest was discovered in 2025, also in a bamboo forest, and contained 25 eggs. On August 19, researchers observed young king cobras beginning to emerge from it.
Why the finds matter
The discoveries mark the first documented cases of king cobra nests and clutches found in China outside the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Researchers believe the observations may point to more varied breeding behaviour among king cobras than previously assumed. They want to determine whether two snakes jointly guarding a nest is a rare exception or a behaviour that had simply gone unnoticed until now.
