Carl, the iconic King Cobra, dies

The ABQ Biopark Zoo is sad to announce the recent passing of Carl, the king cobra snake. He was popular amongst guests in the Reptile building at the zoo.

Carl came to the BioPark in 2011. He was already an adult, so his medical background up to that point was unknown.

He was estimated to be 24-years-old when he died. The average life expectancy of a king cobra is around 20 years.

Stretching to about 13 and a half feet long, he was one of the largest snakes at the BioPark. King cobras are the longest venomous species in the world, sometimes growing up to 20 feet in length.

Animal care staff say before his health issues started, he was very active in his habitat. “He was spunky,” said Phil, an animal caretaker who worked with Carl at the BioPark. “I thoroughly enjoyed how active he was.”

As an older snake, Carl had arthritis and cataracts. Because of his age and deteriorating health, the veterinary and animal care teams were providing routine supportive care and closely monitoring him and his quality of life. Animal care staff noticed his activity had decreased even more and a swelling on his body and a medical check-up was performed. Carl passed away soon after showing signs of illness and his necropsy (animal autopsy) showed that he had a mycobacterium infection. This type of infection is common in older reptiles and is unfortunately not curable.

“He was an animal that guests had an attachment to, and they loved watching feedings with him,” Phil said. “He was a very impressive addition to the reptile collection.”