breed Library > Snake > Cobras

Description

Cobras are venomous snakes of family Elapidae, of several genera. (Elapidae also include the taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, fierce snakes, coral snakes, mambas, and sea snakes.) Cobras generally inhabit tropical and desert regions of Asia and Africa. Elapidae cannot fold their fangs down, as Viperidae can, so the fangs are generally shorter.

Proportions

Most are quite large, reaching on average 1.2–2.5m in length. The King Cobra may reach up to 5.2m, making it the largest venomous snake in the world.

Personality

They kill their prey, usually small rodents and birds, by injecting a neurotoxin through their nearly hollow fangs. The neurotoxin blocks the synaptic communication between the victim's neurons and muscles, thus stopping movement and control. The snake will only attack a human if provoked or in other extreme circumstances which threaten its survival. Furthermore, not all bites result in envenomation and in the case of the Cobra the amount of "blank" strikes may be quite high: in one series of recorded bites in Malaysia only 55% of strikes had been poisonous. The King Cobra eats other snakes; it feeds almost entirely on other snakes, even venomous ones (ophiophagy). The spitting cobra can also incapacitate larger would-be predators by delivering venom to their eyes. Cobras come in varying colors from black or dark brown to yellowish white. The (jet) black cobra found in Pakistan and North India is considered a sub-species of Indian Cobra.