Cobra Snakes!

Once upon a time, in a nice little forest, there lived an orphaned bunny and an orphaned Cobra. By surprising coincidence both were blind from birth.

One day, the bunny was hopping through the forest, and the Cobra was slithering through the forest, when the bunny tripped over the Cobra and fell down. This, of course, knocked the Cobra about quite a bit. Oh, my," said the bunny, "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I've been blind since birth, so, I can't see where I'm going. In fact, since I'm also an orphan, I don't even know what I am.

"It's quite OK," replied the Cobra. Actually, my story is much the same as yours. I too, have been blind since birth, and also never knew my mother. Tell you what, maybe I could slither all over you, and work out what you are, so at least you'll have that going for you. "Oh, that would be wonderful," replied the bunny.

So the Cobra slithered all over the bunny, and said, "Well, you're covered with soft fur; you have really long ears; your nose twitches; and you have a soft cottony tail. I'd say that you must be a bunny rabbit. "Oh, thank you! Thank you," cried the bunny in obvious excitement.

The bunny suggested to the Cobra, "Maybe I could feel you all over with my paw, and help you the same way you've helped me." So the bunny felt the Cobra all over, and remarked, "Well, you're scaly and smooth, and you have a forked tongue, no backbone and no balls. I'd say you must be either an accountant, or possibly someone else in senior management."

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.

Cobra snake appearance and description

The cobra's most recognizable feature is its hood, a flap of skin and muscle behind the head which it can flare using elongated ribs, perhaps for the purpose of making it appear bigger and more threatening to predators. Cobras come in varying colors from black or dark brown to yellowish white. Elapidae cannot fold their fangs down, as Viperidae can, so their fangs are generally shorter. Most are quite large, reaching on average 1.2-2.5m (3.9-8.2ft) in length.

Cobra is the Portuguese (and old Galician) common name for a snake; it came from late Latin colobra (for classical coluber, colubra). When Portuguese navigators arrived on the coasts of Africa and South Asia in the 16th century, they named the cobra "cobra-capelo", or "hood-snake"; from this compound, the name entered Spanish, French, English, and other European languages.

The cobra is important in Hindu symbolism see Naga mythology.

For a dangerously venomous snake, the cobra's strikes are quite slow when compared to the almost literally "faster than the eye can see" strikes of such species as rattlesnakes. Additionally, 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 were Poisonous. Cobra bites are fatal in about 10% of human cases. However, as with any venomous snake, a bite from a cobra should be treated as a potentially fatal injury and medical attention should be sought immediately.

The cobra's predators include the mongoose and some raptors.

Types of Cobra Snakes

The King Cobra is ophiophagous; it feeds almost entirely on other snakes, even venomous ones, although it sometimes preys on small rodents and birds. It will only attack humans if provoked or in other extreme circumstances that threaten its survival. King Cobras may reach up to 5.2m (17.1ft) in length, making them the largest venomous snakes in the world. They kill their prey by injecting a neurotoxin through their hollow fangs. The neurotoxin blocks the synaptic communication between the victim's neurons and muscles, thus stopping movement and muscle control.

In addition to a deadly bite, the Spitting Cobra can incapacitate larger would-be predators by delivering venom to their eyes.

The Black Cobra, found in Pakistan and North India, is generally considered to be a sub-species of the Indian Cobra or Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja).

Cobra Snake Venom

As with all elapids, the venom of cobras is highly neurotoxic and dangerous. Therefore, any cobra bite must be regarded as life-threatening and professional medical assistance should be immediately sought. Standard treatment involves the use of antivenin. Additionally, it is possible to support bite victims via mechanical ventilation, using equipment of the type generally available at hospitals. Such support should be provided until the venom is metabolised and the victim can breathe unaided. If death occurs it takes place approximately 6 to 12 hours after the cobra bite. Cause of death is respiratory failure ie suffocation via complete paralysis of muscles controlling the ribcage.

Cobra Snake Trivia

The archaic term asp was used to describe many venomous snakes and the asp said to have been used by Cleopatra VII to commit suicide may have been an Egyptian cobra.

In Vietnam, cobras are bottled in rice wine to produce snake wine, which is believed to possess medicinal properties.