Cobra | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants

Don't hate me because I'm venomous. Cobras are venomous snakes related to taipans, coral snakes, and mambas, all members of the Elapidae family. Snakes in this family cannot fold their fangs down, as vipers can, so the fangs are generally shorter. They kill their prey by injecting venom through their fangs. The venom is a neurotoxin that stops the victim's breathing and heartbeat. A cobra only attacks a human if it feels threatened. As with any venomous snake, a bite from a cobra can be deadly if not treated properly.

Life in the hood. Cobras come in varying colors from black or dark brown to yellowish white. They have specialized muscles and ribs in the neck that can flare out when the cobra feels threatened. Cobras are able to raise their body up, spread the hood, and hiss loudly to scare off most threats.

The deep loud hiss of a large king cobra alone is enough to make one's hair stand up on end! This works much the same way as the rattle of the rattlesnake works: it is a warning sign that can be heard at a safe distance. The message is, "I am big, bad, and will bite you if you come any closer!"

What predator would even try to attack a cobra? The snake's biggest enemy is the mongoose, which is quick enough to dart in and bite the back of the cobra's neck before the snake can defend itself.

"Spitting cobra" refers to any one of several cobra varieties that have the ability to spit or spray venom from their fangs in defense. Some include the red spitting cobra, the Mozambique spitting cobra, and the black-necked spitting cobra. The venom, although not generally fatal on contact, can cause permanent blindness if it gets into the eye and/or skin, scarring if left untreated.

Despite their name, these snakes don't actually spit their venom. They spray the venom by squeezing their muscles on the venom glands, forcing the venom out of front openings in the fangs. When cornered, some can "spit" their venom up to a distance of 6.5 feet (2 meters). Four out of seven cobra varieties found in Africa and seven out of nine found in Asia can spit. While this is typically their form of defense, all spitting cobras are also able to deliver venom through a bite.

Wildlife care specialists at the San Diego Zoo wear a protective shield, which covers the head and protects the eyes, when working with these snakes. A wildlife care specialist may remove the shield after cleaning the snake's habitat and find a fine coating of venom on the face plate, even though the cobra did not hood or strike!

See spot slither. The Indian cobra, or spectacled cobra, is native to India. It has a unique pattern on the back of its hood: two circular patterns connected by a curved line that looks like the cobra is wearing glasses, or spectacles. These markings are meant to look like eyes and perhaps fool a potential enemy.

You're probably familiar with this cobra: it's the snake used by snake charmers, although the practice of snake charming in India has been banned since 1991 by a wildlife protection act. The Indian cobra is an important predator, consuming large numbers of rats. And its venom components have been used in medical research for drugs that can benefit humans.

In India, the spectacled cobra is much respected and feared, even having its own place in Hindu mythology as a powerful deity. The monocle cobra also has patterns on the back of its hood, but with one circular "eyepiece," or "monocle," instead of two!

Walk like an Egyptian. The Egyptian cobra is native to the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East and is one of the largest and most common cobras in Africa. This cobra is responsible for many deaths. It is the largest of all the Naja species, with a maximum length of 9.8 feet (3 meters). The Egyptian cobra's venom is extremely toxic. Its bite can cause a quick death, and it is considered by many to be the serpent used by Cleopatra to commit suicide.