Spectacled snake. Indian spectacled cobra: behavioral features, description Indian cobra naya

Indian cobra is a representative of the genus true cobras. This is a very poisonous snake. Every year more than 50 thousand people die from its bites in India alone, although there are many more cases of attacks. Some are saved by timely administered serum, others by the fact that the bite was “false.” Great value The unpleasant proximity of reptiles and humans plays into this, thanks to which attacks become commonplace.

The Indian cobra, or Naya, is divided into several subspecies, including

• blind;
• spitting Indian;
• monocle;
• Central Asian;
• Taiwanese.

Habitat

The spectacled cobra lives on the African continent, not on the territory of the Asian part of Eurasia. Its habitat includes Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and India. It inhabits both humid jungles and mountainous areas. In China, cobra can often be found in rice fields.

Description

Indian cobra is pretty large snake, having a body up to two meters long, covered with dense scales. Distinctive feature This type of snake has a hood, which the cobra opens in case of danger or excitement. The hood causes swelling of the body of the Indian cobra, formed as a result of the expansion of the ribs and intercostal muscles.

Indian cobras vary in color body surface. More often the scales are yellow, grayish-brown or sandy in color. Close to the head there is a pattern, the contours of which resemble glasses, for which the cobra is called a spectacled snake. The drawing performs a protective function. When attacking it, it seems to the predator that the snake is looking directly at him, and not with his back turned.

Features of behavior

This type of reptile is not at all afraid of humans, so very often they inhabit places near human habitation, outbuildings or agricultural land. Often the Indian cobra can be seen in abandoned buildings. Indian cobras rarely attack first. If a person is not a source of danger for her and does not show aggression, the cobra will not attack, but will prefer to hide. All cases of attack are associated with the natural defense of the snake at a time of threat to life.

Basic diet reptiles consists of small rodents, birds, and amphibians. The snake can destroy bird nests and eat eggs and chicks. Near villages, the snake can prey on poultry, small animals, mice and rats. The large Indian cobra easily swallows a rat and a small hare. Snakes can go without water for a long time.

Depending on the region where they live, snakes of this species hunt in different times days. As a rule, they look for prey on the ground, in tall grass or in water, since this snake swims very well. When attacked spectacled snake takes a defensive stance, raising top part body, straightening its hood, while emitting a loud hiss.

Most Indians know that the spectacled snake has a noble character and never doesn't attack first. The first throw of a snake is always deceptive: the snake does not inject poison, but strikes with its head, as if warning of its intentions. If the victim did receive the dose deadly poison, within half an hour alarming signs of poisoning will appear:

• severe dizziness,
• confusion,
• muscle weakness,
• impaired coordination of movements.
• severe vomiting.

After a few hours, paralysis of the heart muscle occurs and the person dies. The poison is very highly toxic. One gram of poison is enough to kill about a hundred small dogs.

An interesting subspecies is the spitting cobra, which almost never bites. Thanks to special structure she injects poison into her teeth. The canals are not located in the lower part of the tooth, but in the lateral surface . In case of danger she spits poison at a distance of up to two meters, trying to get into the victim’s eyes. This leads to damage to the cornea of ​​the eye and loss of vision. Unlike other types poisonous snakes, reptile teeth are very brittle and fragile. When bitten, this leads to chipping and breaking off. New teeth grow very quickly.

Reproduction

In the third year of life, the Indian cobra reaches sexual maturity. The mating season of the spectacled snake falls in January and February. After three months, snakes lay 10-20 eggs. This species constantly guards the egg laying while being nearby.

After two months, the cubs appear, can move independently and leave the nest. Many species of spectacled snake in India are kept in terrariums near humans. They become participants in numerous performances for tourists.

Indian cobra is a species of snake that is generally considered national treasure. A lot of legends and beliefs are associated with this snake. Rudyard Kipling's fairy tale “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” about the confrontation between a small mongoose and a huge Indian cobra is known all over the world.

Many have heard or personally observed dancing spectacled snake to the tune of a snake charmer. This sight is incredibly dangerous if some measures are not taken. Therefore, many charmers remove snakes' teeth or sew their mouths shut before performing. In fact, there are several people in the world who can work with poisonous snakes. These people know well the habits of snakes and what movements they can react to aggressively.

Indian cobra or spectacled snake

Source: http://iiru.ru

The Indian cobra, or spectacled snake, got its name for a reason. She is bright and extravagant. The main color of her overalls is yellow with blue sparkles and a brown scarf (stripes) at the throat. The back of the overalls is darker - brown, and in the area of ​​the ribs it’s wonderful identification mark– white applique in the form of pince-nez.

Source: http://givotnie.com

Among these snakes there are also those that have one eyepiece in the applique; these are called monocles.

The Indian cobra grows up to 1.5 - 2 m.

You can meet this beauty in India (hence the name), Central Asia, Southern China, the islands of the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. The snake has no specific requirements for its place of residence; it thrives in dense jungles, rice fields, and close to humans: in parks and garden plots.

In July, the female lays from 9 to 19 eggs, from which babies hatch in late August-early September. The Indian cobra does not hatch eggs, but after laying eggs it is always nearby, protecting future offspring from offenders.

The spectacled snake is a predator and meat eater. She prefers to feast on rodents, amphibians and birds. But its main food is small rodents, so the Indian cobra is respected by farmers, because thanks to its efforts, there are fewer crop pests.

Source: http://cosma.livejournal.com

Indian cobra venom is very toxic, one dried gram is enough to kill 140 dogs average size. On humans, the effects of a bite appear within 10 minutes.

Although Indian cobras love solitude, they have extraordinary artistic abilities, for which they are attracted to participate in the performances of Indian snake charmers. Interestingly, only Indian and Egyptian cobras have learned to be tamed. The charmer plays the pipe, luring the snake out of the basket, and makes it sway to the beat of the music.

Source: http://www.animalsglobe.ru

In fact, the snake follows the movements of the musician, preparing to attack, but it seems that it is dancing. And the caster risks his life every second of his performance. In order to stay alive, he studies the character and habits of his pet in the smallest detail and as soon as he sees that it is ready to attack, he immediately puts it back in the basket. Skilled charmers can distract the snake's attention so much that they manage an incredible trick - kissing a snake; less skillful ones - remove the cobra's teeth. But the latter is rarely practiced: firstly, spectators can ask the caster to show the cobra's teeth, and if they do not appear, he is expelled in disgrace. Secondly, having lost its teeth, the cobra is deprived of poison and cannot digest its prey, therefore it is doomed to a slow and hungry death. Thirdly, changing a pet every 2-3 months is a troublesome and expensive task for a spellcaster.

Fearless Cobra Tamer

Source: http://www.youtube.com/

King cobra or hamadryad

Source: http://iiru.ru

The king cobra is the largest venomous snake on the planet. It grows throughout its life and grows up to 4-5 meters.

Source: http://www.zoopicture.ru

The largest king cobra was caught in Malaysia in 1937; from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, its length was 5.5 m. While it was transported to the London Zoo, it grew a little, and its length was already 5.7 m. During the Second World War During the war, zoo workers were forced to kill the giant so that if the zoo was bombed, the cobra could not escape and cause trouble. The average weight of an adult individual with its impressive size is only 5-6 kg, so the cobra does not look massive like a python or anaconda.

When meeting, king cobras measure their height, each one tries to touch the top of the opponent’s head, and the one that manages to do this first is the main one. The second one gives in and tries to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

Source: http://www.tepid.ru

The color of the cobra's overalls, depending on the place of residence, varies from olive to dark brown, with white, beige or yellow rings and yellow belly. The king cobra is called not only because of its size, but also because of the six shields on the back of its head, similar to a crown.

You can meet the King Cobra in South and Southeast Asia. The queen of snakes chooses her habitat tropical forests and dense thickets of bushes. In densely populated India, forests are being actively cut down. Therefore, the snake had to adapt to new conditions and learn to live next to a person, although people are not very happy about such a dangerous neighbor.

Source: http://www.zoopicture.ru

During the mating period, males, having collided in the same territory, arrange ritual fights and dances, while they do not bite each other (even if they did bite, nothing terrible would happen, because king cobras are immune to their own poison). Naturally, the winner remains near the female. At the same time, the winner is very jealous, and if the loser managed to fertilize the female, he can kill and eat her.

The male takes care of the female for a long time, but not because he is a gallant gentleman, but in order to make sure that she accepts him and will not send him to his forefathers, if something goes wrong.

The female lays 20-40 eggs in the nest. In order not to inadvertently eat the baby snakes, shortly before their appearance, it crawls away to hunt in order to eat enough.

The spectacled snake is distributed throughout India, southern China, Burma, Siam, western Afghanistan, northeastern parts of Persia and southern regions Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea. In the Himalayas it is found up to an altitude of 2,500 m.

The spectacled snake chooses a place it likes and, if nothing forces it to leave there, lives there throughout its life. Her favorite home consists of abandoned termite mounds, ruins, heaps of stones and wood, and holey clay walls.

Indian cobra is 1.4-1.81 m long, fiery yellow in color, with an ash-blue sheen in certain lighting. On the back of the head there is a clear pattern resembling glasses - a clear light pattern on the back of the neck, which becomes clearly visible when the snake is defending itself. The significance of the bright pattern on the dorsal side of the snake is very great - it deters a predator from attacking, even if it managed to run towards the snake from the rear.

The ventral side is gray and often has broad black stripes on the front of the body. The rounded and slightly blunted head smoothly merges into the body. The head is covered with large scutes, the upper jaw is armed with paired poisonous fangs, followed by 1-3 more small teeth.

In India, the spectacled snake is an object of reverent veneration and even almost superstitious fear. They worship her and appease her in every possible way. She even became one of the heroines in religious legends: “When Buddha once wandered the earth and fell asleep under the rays midday sun, the cobra appeared, expanded its shield and shaded the face of the god from the sun.

Pleased with this, the god promised her extreme mercy, but forgot about his promise, and the snake was forced to remind him of this, since the vultures were causing terrible devastation among them at that time. In defense against these birds of prey Buddha gave the cobra glasses, which kites are still afraid of today.”

If a resident of Malabar finds a poisonous snake in his house, he asks it to leave in the most friendly manner. If this does not help at all, then he holds food in front of her to lure her out. And if even then it does not leave, then he calls on the servants of the deity, who, of course, for an appropriate reward, make touching admonitions to the snake and charm the snake.

This veneration is no coincidence. Not even because Hindus consider the snake to be a deity. The Indian cobra is very dangerous, and in no case should you anger it, as then the snake becomes very aggressive and uncontrollable. Only when brought to the extreme does she rush at the attacker.

The snake hunts only in the late afternoon hours and often continues to crawl late at night. Therefore, it can rightfully be called a nocturnal reptile. The cobra's food consists exclusively of small animals, mainly reptiles and amphibians: lizards, frogs and toads. She hunts mice, rats, insects. Often robs bird's nests.

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The spectacled snake has quite a few enemies, among which the first place belongs to the mongoose. This small predator fearlessly attacks snakes of any size.

But for humans, the Indian snake is extremely dangerous. Even with a broken tooth, a snake can cause injury, and in place of broken teeth, no less poisonous replacement teeth will soon grow.

Cobra venom has neurotoxic effects. A minute later, complete paralysis sets in. The venom of the spectacled cobra is so toxic that a chicken dies from its bite in 4 minutes, and a laboratory mouse dies in 2 minutes.

But the cobra never bites a person unless absolutely necessary, and even if it makes a throw towards the enemy, it often does not open its mouth (a fake throw). Never anger a cobra. Even if it is nearby, you should not hit the snake with a stick or throw any objects at it. This will only anger the reptile, and it will attack in self-defense.

The length of the cobra varies from 1.5 to 2 meters. The reptile lives in Central Asia.In India, the spectacled snake is an object of reverent veneration and even almost superstitious fear..Snake got its name from the two spots that are visible on its swollen hood.

Other names

Naja naja - lat. name of a species of Indian cobra.
Сobra – general English, French, Italian, Spanish. cobra genus name
Spectacled snake.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia (reptiles)
Order: Squamata (scaly)
Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
Family: Elipidae (slates)
Genus: Naja (true cobras)
Species: Naja naja (Indian cobra or spectacled snake)
Subspecies: monocle cobra (Naja naja kaouthia), Central Asian cobra (Naja naja oxiana), Indian spitting cobra (Naja naja sputatrix), blind cobra (Naja naja coeca), Taiwanese cobra (Naja naja atra) and others, about 10 subspecies are known in total .

Habitat

The Indian cobra is most often found in South Asia and on the African mainland. The subspecies monocle cobra, so called because of the pattern on the hood in the form of a single ring, lives in the southern part of Central Asia, eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the island Sri Lanka. Also, the habitat of this snake extends throughout Southeast Asia, reaching South China and the islands of Taiwan and covering all of the Sunda and Philippine Islands. The subspecies of the Central Asian cobra, which inhabits the territories of Southern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and Southwestern Tajikistan, is characteristic of the latitudes of our country. The Central Asian subspecies of the Indian cobra prefers to live in the foothills, not climbing high, but living on hills with sparse grassy vegetation and many holes and stone rubble where you can hide. In Central Asia, the Indian cobra chooses places near water or mountain gorges. And it also willingly settles near human habitation, for example, in the ruins of old houses, in cemeteries and even in populated villages. However, it can just as easily be found in the arid areas of Asian deserts far from bodies of water. Actually, the Indian cobra, that is, its nominal subspecies, living in India, Ceylon and Pakistan, chooses a variety of places to live - ruins of buildings, tree roots, termite mounds and ravines. She is also not afraid of human proximity. The Indian cobra can settle in the city, on a private plot, in a rice field, and in the mountains up to 2700 meters above sea level. The Indian spitting cobra is a resident of Southeast Asia, the Lesser Sunda and Philippine Islands, in particular the islands of Java and Celebes. Other subspecies that can “shoot” poison are found on the Malay Islands.

Description

The Indian cobra owes many legends and stories, including its amazing appearance. It is very colorfully painted. The predominant color is bright yellow with a bluish tint, noticeable in sunlight. In different subspecies of snakes, body color can vary from yellow-gray to brown, and there are also completely black snakes. The abdominal part of the body is noticeably lighter - yellow-brown or gray. Young Indian cobras have horizontal, wide dark stripes on their skin. As the snake matures, they disappear. The body length of the Indian cobra is one and a half to two meters. Its rounded and slightly flattened head is integral with the body. The Indian cobra's eyes are small and have a round pupil. There are large shields of skin on the head, and the body is long and thinning towards the tail, completely covered with smooth shiny scales.
The Indian cobra earned the nickname of the spectacled snake due to the light pattern on the back of the neck, reminiscent of antique glasses. When the snake is frightened or defensive, it raises the front part of its body into a vertical position, and the cobra's head balances against the enemy. The hood appears due to 8 pairs of front ribs, which at this moment spread apart. The hooded part of the body immediately noticeably expands and flattens, and the glasses clearly appear on the skin. As already mentioned, in the subspecies of the monocle cobra the spectacle pattern consists of one ring, while in the Central Asian subspecies it is absent altogether.
For all its apparent grace, the Indian cobra is quite clumsy and clumsy. However, it swims well, dives and moves along tree branches. A pair of the famous venomous fangs of the Indian cobra are located on the upper jaw, followed by an empty gap, and then several more (1-3) small teeth. However, this snake, unlike its other relatives, bites infrequently. She prefers to scare off her opponent with a loud hiss and impressive appearance, without waiting for him to approach or touch her. But even with direct contact with the enemy, the Indian cobra is capable of first delivering a false bite, hitting the enemy with its head. The thing is that this snake’s teeth are shorter than, say, vipers, so for a full bite, it has to firmly grab the victim with its teeth and squeeze them several times in order to accurately bite and inject the poison. And the teeth of the Indian cobra are quite easy to break, but new ones quickly grow in their place. In fact, it is quite difficult to get bitten by this snake in nature, only if you specifically run into it. In reality, Indian cobras rarely attack humans.
Of particular interest to scientists is such a subspecies of the Indian cobra as the spitting cobra. This snake really has an original way of attacking. It is capable of spraying poison towards the enemy at a distance of up to 2 meters. This feature operates due to the special structure of poisonous fangs, in which the poison-conducting channel is not directed downwards, like in other representatives of the aspid family, but forward - perpendicular to the front side of the fang. A sharp muscle contraction helps the spitting cobra shoot venom through these holes. The spitting Indian cobra is distinguished by great accuracy. She directs a stream of poison into the eyes of the enemy, but more often uses this skill against large opponents. Such a “shot” can lead to complete blindness if the eyes are not washed out in time.

Nutrition

Different subspecies of cobras hunt at different times of the day: some in the evening and late at night, others - spring days during the period of greatest activity. On especially hot days summer days The Indian cobra comes out for prey early in the morning, when the sun has not yet begun to burn. Its main food is amphibians (toads and frogs), small lizards and other reptiles, as well as rodents - mice and rats. If, while searching for food, a snake finds a bird's nest, it will most likely be destroyed. And it is no coincidence that the Indian cobra settles near people. In this way, she provides herself with an abundant diet, thanks to the rodents that live near humans, as well as the eggs of poultry. The Indian cobra is quite capable of plundering a chicken coop. She hunts fish in water. But she can do without water for a long time, for several weeks and even months, although if there is a body of water nearby, it drinks a lot and willingly.

Reproduction

The nominal subspecies of the Indian cobra is characterized by better fertility than the Central Asian one. There is affection between different-sex individuals; the female and male stick together not only in mating season, but also after fertilization, up to the birth of the young. The mating period for Indian cobras begins in winter, and they lay eggs in late spring and protect them with joint efforts. But more often, of course, the female guards her offspring. However, unlike royal cobras, Indian cobras do not hatch eggs, warming them with their warmth. However, the spectacled snake also carefully prepares for the appearance of offspring, choosing the appropriate warm place for the nest, and then defending it with all the courage she can muster. It is better not to disturb the Indian cobra guarding its eggs; during this period it is especially dangerous. In one clutch of an Indian cobra there are about 10-20 eggs, but larger clutches have also been found - up to 45 eggs in a nest. After 2.5 - 3 months, small snakes emerge from the eggs, which are already poisonous, ready for defense and know how to inflate their hood. It is quite difficult to achieve reproduction of the Indian cobra in captivity; not all zoos can boast of this, not to mention private owners of terrariums.

The Indian cobra is so dangerous that it is unlikely to be found in private collections of terrariumists. Scientists prefer to observe this snake on the territory nature reserves and rarely in zoos. But if we talk about arranging a terrarium, then for an Indian cobra measuring one and a half meters it should be at least 100x80x60 cm. Another the most important moment– maintaining the required temperature. This can be achieved through heated floors. And of course, the Indian cobra, even in a limited space, needs shelter, for example, some plants whose roots can be climbed under, or specially adapted boxes. You can use small rodents as live food for the Indian cobra, as well as give it fish, pieces of meat and other sources of animal protein. And yet, we repeat once again, keeping venomous snakes in captivity is very dangerous.

Additionally

In India, cobras are treated not only with fear, but with real reverence and reverence. Hindus worship it as if it were a deity and, having found an Indian cobra in their house, they cajole it in every possible way and even feed it. It is not surprising that given this attitude, charlatanism associated with the performances of snake charmers is widespread in India. These people train the Indian cobra, accustoming it to certain movements and sounds, and the snake eventually begins to demonstrate a kind of dance to music. They say that unscrupulous charmers simply break out the snake's poisonous teeth. However, researchers have determined that most of these trainers still know how to handle poisonous Indian cobras without resorting to any violence.

The spectacled snake (see photo below) received this name because of the pattern, which consists of two rings with a bow located on the back side of its hood. This element is a specific feature of all cobras.

It is an area of ​​the neck that swells when exposed to a specific muscle group. This happens when the cobra is aggressive or scared.

Habitats

You can meet a spectacled snake in nature only in countries with warm climate. It lives throughout the entire space from India, Central Asia and Southern China to the Philippines and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Favorite places Cobras are found in the jungle and sometimes they crawl into city parks and garden plots.

Cobra lives in various places. It can settle under the roots of trees, in piles of brushwood, in ruins and rocky screes. At the same time, she prefers places located close to human habitation. A snake can also live high in the mountains, in areas up to two thousand seven hundred meters above sea level.

External description

The Indian cobra, also called the spectacled snake, has a body length of one and a half to two meters. The main color of its scales is fiery yellow, giving off a bluish sheen. The slightly blunt and rounded head of the cobra transitions very smoothly into the body. The snake's small eyes have round pupils. There are large shields on the head.
The cobra's paired venomous fangs are located on its upper jaw. One to three small teeth follow at some distance from them.

The body of the spectacled cobra, covered with smooth scales, turns into a thin long tail. The coloring of individuals of this species can vary significantly even among those representatives that live in the same area. The general background of the body is colors from grayish-yellow to brown and even black. The belly of a cobra is yellowish-brown or light gray.

The coloring pattern of young individuals is somewhat different. Transverse dark stripes are clearly visible on their body. With age, they gradually fade and subsequently disappear altogether.

The most notable difference in the snake's coloration is the so-called spectacles. This light, clear pattern is especially visible when the cobra is aggressive.
The spectacled snake is clumsy and rather slow in its movements. However, if necessary, she is an excellent swimmer and climbs trees.

Behavior in case of danger

When threatened, the spectacled snake raises the front third of its body vertically. At the same time, she spreads the eight anterior pairs of cervical ribs to the side. In case of danger, the cobra holds its head towards the enemy in a horizontal position. In such a situation, the neck expands and becomes flatter. It is then that the bright eye-shaped pattern characteristic of this type of cobra appears. The value of “glasses” for a snake is very great. The fact is that in the event of a predator attacking from the rear, they create the impression that the cobra’s head is turned towards it. This deters the reptile's enemies.

Reproduction

The spectacled snake mates in January-February. And already in May, females lay eggs. As a rule, a clutch contains from ten to twenty eggs (very rarely up to forty-five). Males and females live in pairs not only during the mating period, but also until the moment when the young are born. The laying of eggs is necessarily protected by one of the parents.

The eggs develop in seventy to eighty days.

Enemies and victims

The spectacled snake has many enemies. However, the most dangerous for her is the mongoose. This is a small predator that belongs to the civet family. The mongoose is capable of attacking a snake of any size. It easily jumps away, avoiding the throws of the Indian cobra, and at the right moment, it grabs its neck with its sharp teeth. The mongoose has reduced sensitivity to cobra venom. However, he still tries to avoid her bites.
The spectacled snake is very poisonous. However, it does not pose a threat to humans. The fact is that it first poisons its victim with poison, and then swallows it whole. The snake feeds on various reptiles, rats and mice. Therefore, the person is not of particular interest to her.

In the event that a menacing hiss is heard nearby, anyone can understand that a cobra is nearby. The spectacled snake warns a person of a possible attack. If the situation is left unattended, a big disaster can happen. The cobra will begin to defend itself, which means it will bite and poison its offender. Its poison is very strong. Once bitten, a person may become ill or die.

The spectacled snake is revered. There are many tales and legends about it. Cobra is used by snake charmers during their performances. It is kept in wicker round baskets. Before the performance, the lid of the basket is removed and the cobra takes its spectacular pose. The caster plays while swaying to the music. The snake does not hear sounds. She lacks an external auditory organ. However, the cobra swayed after him. From the outside it seems that the reptile is dancing.