One bite from this hooded hunter can drop an elephant—and it doesn't even want to fight you.
When a cobra bites its prey, the snake hangs on to it for several seconds, grinding as much venom as possible into the wound. Cobra venom is extremely potent. A single bite from a king cobra could kill an elephant in just a few hours. Fortunately, cobras are not aggressive snakes. Most of the time, they just want to be left alone.
Some African cobras have a very nasty habit. If they feel threatened, they spray jets of venom at their attacker, aiming for the eyes.
When cobras get angry, they raise the front of their bodies off the ground and spread out the bones in their neck, tightening the loose skin into a "hood" that's intended to scare off enemies. Some cobras grow twice as long as a compact car—those monsters might be able to raise their heads as high as yours!
Like all wild animals, snakes have to look out for predators that want to eat them. Birds and other snakes are their most common enemies.
A snake doesn't have to be big to be deadly. A baby cobra can be as poisonous as an adult. Like all baby snakes, a tiny cobra is a miniature replica of its parents—in this case, the baby is ready to hunt the instant it breaks out of its eggshell.
People sometimes "milk" venomous snakes like this rattlesnake. They make a snake bite a membrane-covered jar and then stroke its venom glands. The collected venom is used to make various medicines, especially antivenin for counteracting snakebites. Don't try this at home!
Best of enemies — Not many animals will mess with a cobra, but the mongoose is a worthy opponent. Although it's not immune, this little mammal can tolerate a dose of the snake's venom, and a mongoose is very quick. These two animals usually avoid each other, but when they get into a fight, the contest usually ends with the mongoose eating a dead cobra.
Source: Microsoft Dangerous Creatures (1994) CD-ROM. Text liberated from original screen art; images & clip restored from disc. Original media is Microsoft/supplier copyright — placeholder pending swap to open-licensed assets. Credits & Acknowledgements →