Cobra Snake
You must have seen a cobra in the animal parks, in the zoos or at least in the TVs. Did you know that Cobras are one of the largest and the most venomous snakes that are found in the whole world and also that they are poisonous enough to kill a huge elephant? They are lovely but dangerous creatures.
Cobras are generally found in the tropical and the dessert regions of Asia and Africa. The largest cobra was recorded to be of a length of 5.58 m while they grow to an average length of 3.7 m. the young cobras are about 14 inches in length and have bright markings all over their body. The cobras, in a single bite can eject about 6-7 ml of venom and have a paralyzing effect.
They don’t harm anyone unless they feel threatened. Once they feel the threat, they rise about one-third to their length spreading their hood and making a hissing noise. The skin of the king cobra is covered by scales which thus looks shiny in appearance but completely fry to touch.
Most of the adult cobras are black, yellow, green or brown in color. The young cobras are often seen to have bright yellow, black or white bands all across their bodies which fade away with the passing time and later become broad stripe like markings on the adult cobras.
Cobras, move by sliding from place to place like the other snakes though they usually try to escape when scared. They arise aggressively from the ground as a defensive act when angered or while trying to look for a prey. The male cobras fight each other over a female cobra during their mating time. A unique feature of the cobras is that they are the only snakes which make a nest for their eggs.
The female cobra’s piles up leaves together to create their nest which also generates heat to warm the eggs in the nest. The female cobra’s lay about 20 to 40 eggs at the same time and curls over them trying to keep them warm for hatching.
Cobras mainly feast on rats, other snakes, lizards and other smaller creatures swallowing them completely head first. Their jaws are attached to each other which thus lets them to swallow even the wider animals. They are mainly found in the most remote areas like deep forests, swamps, thick undergrowths etc. away from the civilized areas.
In India, cobras are worshipped and depicted in the sculptures of the walls in temples. Cobras also form the garlands around the neck of lord Shiva and so are worshipped.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 12:45 pm and is filed under Types Of Snakes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.