Protected areas are often promoted as an important solution to preserving biodiversity. However, permeable edges can undermine the effectiveness of preserves because animals may move into adjacent human-dominated unprotected areas. We investigated attitudes toward, and sources of mortality of, a far-ranging apex predator, the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah; Cantor 1836), in a biosphere reserve in northeastern Thailand. Our questionnaire revealed marked fear of snakes and hostility toward king cobras. Using radiotelemetry, we followed 23 king cobras over a 4-year period, during which time we documented the mortality of 14 individuals. We considered 10 of the deaths to be anthropogenic in origin, including road mortality, pollution, fish traps, and direct persecution; these deaths disproportionately occurred in unprotected areas. Our results highlight how dangerous human-dominated landscapes are for king cobras. Because king cobras move long distances and maintain large home ranges, it is likely that successful conservation of the species cannot be satisfactorily met by protected areas alone; a more holistic, education-focused conservation strategy is required. We stress the importance of a human dimensions approach that leads toward greater understanding of human attitudes toward king cobras, and snakes in general, combined with ecological research for more effective conservation.

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The herpetofauna occurring in the Selva Maya is one of the richest assemblages in the Americas. We herein provide an updated list of herpetofauna species for the Calakmul region, located in the southern Yucatán Peninsula, Campeche, Mexico. This species list was compiled considering the results of herpetological surveys conducted between 2015-2019 in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, information gathered from previous literature, and sighting records from the website iNaturalist. All this information combined resulted in the identification of 109 species, 23 amphibians and 86 reptiles, belonging to 34 families. Furthermore, we hereby present new distribution records for 7 snakes, 2 lizards and 2 frogs not previously observed in the study region. Approximately 38% (n = 41) of the herpetofauna species are listed under a threat category by the environmental Mexican legislation (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). The list presented in this study increases to 109 the number of species known to occur in the Calakmul region, and to 135 in Campeche, which therefore becomes the Mexican state of the Yucatán Peninsula with the highest herpetofauna diversity, followed by Quintana Roo with 133 species.

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