From spiders to sharks to snakes, Australia is home to some kind of the world’s most dangerous, yet awe-inspiring creatures. Take for instance, the king cobra-one of the world’s most venomous snakes- which can grow up to 18 feet long. Currently, the largest recorded king cobra in all of Australia is a 13.45-foot-long snake named Raja who resides at The Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales. The 13-year-old snake, who weighs currently more than 17 pounds, has actually grow over the past year, which is a good thing, explained Dan Rumsey, the head of Reptiles and Venom at The Australian Reptile Park. While a king cobra like Raja isn’t the most venomous in the world, his bite is nothing to mess around with.”A single bite is enough to kill several people, or even an elephant,” Rumsey stressed. During a recent milking session, ”we estimated that the venom yield was somewhere between 400 to 450 milligrams,” Rumsey said. ”To put this into sperpective, a tiger snake here in Australia (the fourth most toxic snake in the word) would only put out about 45 to 50 milligrams of venom.” That’s why the park staff uses “extreme caution” when handling and caring for Raja. “ Rumsey said. “We contact to a(n) absolute minimum and only handle Raja when absolutely necessary. Working with any species of cobra is all about being able to read the snake’s body language and predicting its next move – that’s how the keepers know exactly what they need to do next.” As much caution as there is around Raja, he has proven to be a(n) invaluable part of research, as well as the Australian landscape. “He has been the father of ___10____ of healthy king cobra babies, who are now living throughout Australia,” Rumsey noted. “Through this breeding program, we were able to see the amazing king cobra mating ritual and watch Raja become the ‘Big Daddy’ of cobra here in Australia.” So, if you’re planning to head Down Under, you can visit Raja and see him up close and personal at the park. (From the safe distance of being nowhere near him, of course!)