King cobras are accidentally hitching rides on indian trains, study finds

India’s vast railway network has an unexpected group of stowaways: king cobras. A new study published in Biotropica reveals that these massive venomous snakes may be inadvertently using freight trains as a transportation system, allowing them to spread far beyond their natural forest habitats.

Researchers led by Dikansh S. Parmar analyzed two decades of snake rescue records in Goa, a coastal Indian state known more for its beaches than dangerous reptiles. While most king cobra sightings occurred predictably in the forested Western Ghats where the species typically lives, five cases stood out as statistical anomalies. These snakes were discovered near railway stations and tracks in areas completely unsuitable for forest-dwelling cobras—places like Chandor railway station, where one cobra was found sheltering among stored rails and concrete pillars.

The researchers believe these cobras accidentally boarded cargo trains while the locomotives passed through prime cobra territory in India’s interior forests. Rail yards offer everything a large snake might find appealing: shelter, rodents to hunt, and other prey species. A cobra entering a freight car at night could easily travel dozens of kilometers before emerging in an entirely different ecosystem.

This phenomenon isn’t just theoretical—Indian media has documented numerous cases of snakes discovered on moving trains. The findings highlight how human infrastructure can create unexpected wildlife corridors, sometimes transporting species far from their natural ranges with potentially significant ecological implications.