The large brown spitting cobra is a critically endangered snake. Collared cobra Venom of the red spitting cobra

A spitting cobra behaves like a basketball player when it spits.

Spitting Cobras

These venomous cobras live in savannas and forested areas of Africa and South Asia. They are quite large and can reach a length of 3 m. They behave nobly, feeding mainly on non-poisonous colubrids or their relatives - cobras of other species. And only occasionally they diversify the diet with large lizards.

Blind the enemy to escape

Spitting cobras are known for their unique defense mechanism. If they are attacked by an enemy too large to eat, they spit a stream of poison at it. The spitting range reaches 2 m. The target of snakes is quite specific - the eyes of the offender. And they reach it with amazing accuracy even from such a great distance.

Cobra venom is a complex mixture of toxic polypeptides, enzymes and proteins with specific biological properties. The most toxic polypeptides are neurotoxin I and neurotoxin II, which cause paralysis of the skeletal and respiratory muscles. If it gets into the eyes, the poison causes sudden and unbearable pain, leading to blindness. Only then, having penetrated through the eyeball into the blood, the poison causes systemic disturbances in the functioning of the body. Fortunately, they are usually not fatal.

Accurate aim in both eyes at once

As a result scientific research Several observations have been made.

As soon as a person changes the position of his head, the cobra follows him. If the person stops moving, the snake still continues to move its head from side to side. According to the scientist, these movements were reminiscent of the actions of a basketball player who is trying to confuse and confuse the opponent before throwing the ball into the basket.

Then, a second before releasing the venom, the snake begins to rotate its head using the muscles of the head and neck and continues moving, releasing the liquid. Accordingly, the poison is sprayed in the form of intersecting ellipses, most likely hitting the enemy’s face, and in both eyes at once.

The experiment also showed that the cobra does not release its venom as a stream, but rather as a spray. Special muscles compress salivary glands in such a way that the stream of poison turns into a spray. Moreover, these muscles work with such force that the spray can rise to a height of up to 2 m, that is, approximately the height of the enemy’s eyes.

Despite the fact that the scientist’s face was protected by a special transparent visor, the experiment looked impressive.

What are spitting cobras? What kind of life do such reptiles lead? What do they eat and how do they reproduce? Is it possible to keep a spitting cobra in captivity? All this will be discussed in our publication.

Species

There are several varieties of snakes, which differ in their ability to defeat the enemy with toxic substances at a distance. These include the following reptiles:

• Big brown spitting cobra.
• Central Asian red cobra.
• Collared cobra.
• Black-necked cobra.
• Black and white cobra.

Spitting mechanism

Spitting cobras, photos of which can be seen in our material, shoot venom through curved channels that are located in the teeth. Such holes can open at the first need. The toxic substance is produced from the channels due to the contraction of special muscles on the snake's neck. This is where the glands are located that replenish the supply of toxic substances.

After flying out of the cobra's mouth toxic substances capable of reaching targets at a distance of up to three meters. As the results of special studies show, such snakes have the ability to accumulate poison, the volume of which is sufficient for several dozen “shots” at a time.

The described mechanism is observed in African spitting cobras. The Central Asian variety is also capable of shooting poison over a considerable distance. However, in this species, the toxic substance shoots out from a special hole under the tongue, in the area of ​​the lower jaw.

Main goal defense mechanism is the entry of toxic substances into the eyes of the enemy, be it an animal or a person. Having detected danger, the cobra raises its head and keeps the target in sight. Then a spit occurs, which is directed slightly above the enemy’s head. Having reached the destination, poison for short time leads to clouding of the cornea of ​​the eye. The result is often complete blindness of the victim. Moreover, toxic substances irritate the skin, causing destruction of its structure.

Sometimes spitting cobras make mistakes. But this doesn't happen often. The reason is usually a good reaction from the potential target. In some cases, cobras mistake shiny elements on a person’s clothing for eyes.

Nutrition

Spitting cobras, photos of which are presented in the article, often hunt small reptiles. The prey of such snakes are toads and lizards. Occasionally, small rodents, birds, and other snakes become victims of poisonous creatures.

Having captured prey, the spitting cobra injects a potent toxin into its body. The snake does not immediately release the victim. The predator continues to hold onto the potential meal until it stops showing the slightest signs of life. After immobilizing its prey, the spitting cobra swallows it whole.

Reproduction

Peak activity mating season for spitting cobras, it occurs in the middle of winter. After mating, the female carries eggs, which she lays around April. Up to 15 embryos can form at a time. Eggs are laid in places where an abundance of dry leaves and grass is concentrated. Sometimes reproduction occurs in the spaces between large boulders. Some species build a nest using plant debris for this purpose.

Spitting cobras never leave their clutches unattended. During this period, such reptiles become especially aggressive and dangerous to others. They fearlessly attack anything living creature, which dares to approach the masonry site. At the same time, snakes do not pay any attention to the size and character of the enemy.

Spitting cobras are able to survive in the most atypical conditions. Often such snakes are caught in natural environment habitats for captivity.

For such reptiles, a fairly spacious terrarium is required, measuring at least 120 centimeters in length, as well as 50 centimeters in width and height. Special significance when keeping a cobra, it has the maintenance of optimal temperature regime. The air in the terrarium should warm up to about 25-28 o C. In this case, the animal must be provided with plenty of drink, which is served in a flat container.

The substrate can be a mixture of peat and sand. To give the cobra the opportunity to hide, stones, driftwood and tree branches are placed in the terrarium, and live plants are placed in pots.

Relationship with a person

These days, spitting cobras face considerable danger. Such reptiles often occupy territories where economic activity Human. Fearing deadly poison, people deliberately exterminate these snakes, without thinking about whether such actions are rational in a particular situation.

Among other things, people hunt such animals. The goal is to obtain snake skin, as well as valuable poison. The latter is an indispensable ingredient for the production of antidotes and medications.

Basically, representatives of the genus true cobras (Naja) are called cobras, but some species belong to other genera of the same family:

Shield cobras (Aspidelaps)
Water cobras (Boulengerina)
Collared cobras (Hemachatus)
King cobras (Ophiophagus)
Forest cobras (Pseudohaje)
Desert cobras (Walterinnesia)

These are the most recognizable and widespread snakes and are called "cobras", although there are several other genera whose members are called by the same name.

Cobras feed on rodents, amphibians, and birds, but, like other adders, they willingly eat snakes, including poisonous ones.

Spitting cobras are capable of “shooting” poison into the eyes of the enemy. The black-necked cobra can fire up to 28 “shots” in a row, releasing about 3.7 mg of venom each time. As a result of contact, redness, severe pain, and temporary or even permanent blindness occur due to clouding of the cornea. During the hunt, these cobras kill the victim with a bite, like other poisonous snakes.

The canaliculi in the teeth of these snakes bend at a right angle and open outward on the front surface of the tooth, and the excretory openings are more rounded than those of non-spitting snakes and are shifted closer to the base of the tooth, so that the venom, having passed through them, “shoots” forward. To do this, the snake, with the help of special muscles, sharply compresses the poisonous glands.

Asian cobras can also spray venom, but the venom apparatus is different, and the mechanics of shooting are different: having collected venom in its mouth, the snake forcefully blows it out through the hole in the lower jaw, through which it usually sticks out its tongue

Once, during the colonial occupation in India, the British decided to reduce the number of cobras that had bred, for which they announced a reward for their heads. The local population rushed to destroy the snakes, thereby reducing their number, but then, on the contrary, switched to breeding them for easy money. After the rewards were cancelled, the Indians released the remaining cobras into the wild, causing the snake population to only increase from its original value. Since then, the expression “cobra effect” has been attached to any actions aimed at solving a problem, but as a result making it worse.

Even an elephant can die from the bite of a king cobra, but here’s what’s interesting: cases of human death from a cobra bite are extremely rare (although up to 50 thousand people die from bites of other snakes in India every year). This intelligent reptile saves venom for hunting and, in an attempt to scare away humans, makes “idle bites.”

The king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world - individual individuals can reach five and a half meters in length.

When confronted on the same territory, male king cobras can engage in ritual fights with each other, but they do not bite each other. The winning male remains near the female. Moreover, if the female has already been impregnated by another male, there are often cases when the winning male attacks the female and kills her, after which he devours her. If it is not possible to completely absorb the killed female because of her large size, he burps it. The female can also attack the male and kill him

Among the snakes along with king cobra only Indian rat snake capable of making sounds through breathing movements.

One bite from a large spitting cobra contains enough venom to kill 20 people.

The cobra poses an undoubted danger to humans and animals, but unlike viper snakes it always warns of its presence. Only in case of an immediate threat does the cobra make several lightning-fast attacks towards the enemy, one of which, as a rule, ends with a targeted bite.

Hood - hallmark all cobras The hood is the part of the body in which the ribs move apart under the influence of special muscles, dramatically changing their shape. In a calm state, the cobra is almost no different from many other snakes.

Shield cobras are burrowing reptiles

Forest or woody ones lead predominantly wood image life in the forests of Equatorial Africa.

Water cobras feed almost exclusively on fish.

Among the Indian population, spectacles Indian cobra enjoys special reverence; many legends and tales are associated with it. In addition, snake charmers use it in their performances.

Among the Egyptians, the Egyptian cobra was considered a symbol of power, and on this basis its image adorned the headdress of the pharaohs. The Egyptian cobra, like the Indian one, is often used by snake charmers in their street performances, which are popular with the local population and tourists.

When a freshly caught collared cobra sits in a zoo, not yet accustomed to annoying visitors, the viewing glass is completely “spitted on” with a thick layer of poison. However, in addition to such active defense, the collared cobra often uses a passive technique, turning over on its back and pretending to be dead. The same method of defense has been developed by some colubrid snakes. Unlike true cobras, the collared cobra does not lay eggs but gives birth to live young.

The Central Asian cobra does not wait to be stepped on. Seeing the approaching danger, she takes a defensive pose and makes a loud hiss. This is usually enough to convince a person and even a sheep that the path is closed here. But even if the enemy comes close, the cobra does not always use its poisonous teeth, but sometimes first inflicts a false bite, sharply throwing the front part of the body forward and hitting the enemy with its head and closed mouth. With this technique, she tries to scare away without using her main weapon, thus protecting her teeth from possible breakage. Therefore, being bitten by a cobra in natural conditions practically very difficult.

There is a known case when one black and white cobra, kept in a zoo, lived 29 years, sharing with the anaconda the record for longevity among snakes.

Chinese or Taiwanese cobra

Monocleated cobra

Burmese spitting cobra

Indian or spectacled cobra

Central Asian cobra

Philippine cobra

Andaman cobra

Samara cobra or Peters cobra

Indochinese spitting cobra

Javan or Indonesian spitting cobra

Golden or Sumatran spitting cobra

Angolan cobra

Banded Cobra

Arabian cobra

Senegal cobra

Egyptian cobra

Cape cobra

Ringed water cobra

Congolese water cobra or Christie's cobra

Black and white or forest cobra

Burrowing or multi-bordered cobra

Big spitting cobra

Mozambican spitting cobra

West African or Malian spitting cobra

Zebra spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta nigricincta)

Black spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta woodi)

Black-necked cobra

Nubian spitting cobra

Red spitting cobra

South African shield cobra (Cape coral) Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus

South African shield cobra (Cola) Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi

Common shield cobra

Collared cobra

King cobra or hamadryad

Eastern or golden tree cobra

Western or black tree cobra

desert cobra

There are not many species of such snakes, and they are very dangerous; such snakes have the ability not only to inject poison when biting, but also, without biting, to deliver poison to the intended enemy from a distance.

Two species of venom-spitting cobras live in Africa and one in the Sunda Islands. The black-necked cobra inhabits the savannas of Africa, the collared cobra lives in southern Africa, and the Indian cobra lives on the island of Java, Tsebes and the Lesser Sunda Islands. These snakes are big strong species reaching a length of more than two meters. Poisonous snakes kill their prey with a bite of poisonous teeth, and shoot (spit) poison only for intimidation and defense from large animals or a random person encountered along the way.

Before releasing the venom, the cobra takes a position convenient for this. , so famous that it was included in a set of exercises to strengthen the yoga spine. An enemy approaching the snake can see how the cobra takes on its characteristic threatening pose.

Cobra pose - a third of the front part of the body raised up, an extended hood and cervical ribs spread to the sides. At the same time, the head is in a horizontal position, the gaze closely follows the enemy. At the same time, the cobra makes a loud and angry hiss. If an animal approaches the cobra at 1.5-2.0 meters, it opens its mouth slightly and directs the finest streams of golden liquid into the eyes of the animal or even the approaching person with extraordinary accuracy.

This precise shot is a spit poisonous cobra confuses anyone who approaches her.

Cobras and some other snakes are also capable of releasing venom because they have poisonous teeth. special structure. The venom-conducting channel located inside the tooth comes out on its front surface and the hole is directed straight forward.

To direct the venom forward, the snake makes a sharp contraction of the temporal muscles and squeezes the venom out of the glands. The poison flies out with force from the holes of two poisonous teeth and after 0.5 meters merges into one stream, reaching the target.

Studies were carried out on the process of venom release in the black-necked cobra, and the entire process was described in detail by zoologist T. A. Freyfogel. The trachea closes at the moment of the shot, otherwise the result would not be a jet, but a spray of poison over a short distance. The contracting muscles create a pressure of up to 1.5 atm in the poisonous gland, and this is enough for the poison to fly up to two meters.

With each shot - spit, the snake releases from 35 mg to 6.8 mg of poison. In a state of particular rage, the snake can spray venom continuously up to 28 times, using more than 130 mg of venom.

One ejection of venom takes a cobra a few fractions of a second, everything happens at lightning speed. Therefore, the animal or person does not even have time to close their eyes, and the poison reaches its target.

If snake venom gets into your eyes, you can become completely blind. Of course, such a situation can happen extremely rarely, but the pygmy tribes use a primitive remedy for washing their eyes if a cobra spits poison at them. They use it to wash the eyes, as we say folk remedy- urine. Simply, without wasting time, they pour urine into the victim’s eyes, and then repeat this procedure several times over the course of several days. saves the victim from blindness.

COBRA COBRA (Hemachatus haemachatus) is very close to real cobras, but it stands out as a special genus due to some important characteristics. The main difference is that it does not have any teeth on its upper jaw behind its poisonous fangs (real cobras have them! - 3 small teeth). A medium-sized snake, about 1.5 m, has a grayish upper body, along which intermittent oblique transverse stripes are scattered. Very dark snakes are often found. Unlike true cobras, the collared cobra does not lay eggs but gives birth to live young.

Description

Regardless of its name, the collared cobra remains a very dangerous venomous snake. Her average length about one and a half meters. The upper body has a grayish tint, along which oblique transverse intermittent stripes run. However, sometimes there are also quite dark individuals. In any case, the head of this cobra is always black, and the neck below is also black. The head itself is short and pointed, with large black eyes. Further along the belly there are several black and white wide transverse stripes, which are clearly visible at those moments when the cobra takes a threatening pose. Like a real cobra, it spreads its cervical ribs to the sides, expanding its neck. However, its hood is narrower than that of a real cobra.
When in danger, this cobra inflates its hood, raising its upper body.
It belongs to the so-called “spitting” cobras - due to its ability to throw poison at a distance of up to 2 meters. By sharply contracting the temporal muscles, the snake creates a pressure of up to one and a half atmospheres in the poisonous gland, and the poison is sprayed out in two thin streams, merging into one at a distance of half a meter. Moreover, they usually aim at the eyes, sometimes, however, being deceived by the shiny buttons on their clothes. But their accuracy does not suffer from this - from a distance of about 60 cm, any individual of this species can hit its target with one hundred percent accuracy. And the maximum impact range is about two meters. Moreover, the poison is not sprayed pointwise, but according to a certain geometric sequence, which allows you to hit the victim as accurately as possible.
The collared cobra is very close to real cobras, but it was not accidentally identified as a special genus. Primarily because behind the poisonous fangs on the upper jaw they have no teeth at all (for example, a real cobra has three small teeth). The fangs themselves are directed forward.
Cobras tense their head and neck muscles moments before spitting. They then squirt the venom forward while the head and neck muscles perform rapid head oscillations that disperse the venom. This is how a complex pattern of venom droplets is formed, increasing the likelihood of poison getting into the victim's eyes. Collared cobras don't even need to aim straight for the eyes. They just need to choose the right direction.
Their poison is strong enough to cause blindness if it comes into contact with the eyes of mammals, including humans. A similar reaction is probably to a greater extent serves for protection rather than to destroy prey, although they also use poison when obtaining food.
Its venom is neurotoxic, so its attack causes terrible pain and can cause blindness if it gets into the eyes. In case of a bite, the area around this place becomes red and swollen, hematomas and necrosis are possible.
In addition to active defense, the collared cobra can also use passive techniques, just like some colubrid snakes. She plays dead by rolling over onto her back. At the same time, it relaxes the muscles so much that it becomes soft, opens the mouth and sticks out the tongue.

Habitat

The collared cobra lives in South Africa. Predominantly found in the South Eastern and Southern Cape, Lesotho, Orange Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Transkei, South Eastern Transvaal and Swaziland. Sometimes you can meet this species on the borders of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It chooses grass meadows for its habitat, although it can adapt to living at sea level and even above it. She can be found basking in the sun, although she still prefers night image life.

Reproduction

Unlike other cobras, the collared cobra is not an oviparous snake, but a viviparous one. Under natural conditions, cobras are seasonal snakes: in July, the female lays 9-19 eggs, from which the young emerge in late August - early September. On average, the brood size is from 20 to 30 individuals. Newborn cobras are already quite large, the average size of a baby is 15-18 cm in length. Within an hour after birth, young individuals change their skin. Newborn collared cobras have the same coloring as adults, including distinct stripes around their necks. In the same way, from birth they are capable of spitting poison.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia (reptiles)
Order: Squamata (scaly)
Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
Family: Elipidae (slates)
Genus: Hemachatus (collared cobras)
Species: Hemachatus haemachatus (collared cobra)

Nutrition

The main diet of the collared cobra in nature consists mainly of toads, but if there are few of them, the cobra hunts small mammals, birds, insects, frogs and even other reptiles. Like other adders, cobras readily eat snakes, including poisonous ones. She obtains food with the help of poisonous spitting, spraying poison with amazing accuracy at a distance of up to 2 meters, and aims exclusively at the eyes of the victim.
In captivity, to maintain the health of your pet, you will have to feed food that is closest to what snakes eat in the wild. Collared cobras will not last long on insects alone, so they cannot do without live food. Toads, frogs, chickens and other chicks, rabbits, mice, rats, etc. are well suited as food for them. Additional types of insects that are used as food for the collared cobra are small reptiles, giant worms, grasshoppers, locusts, silkworms, and others. Many cobras prefer one type of food, which is their staple diet - toads and frogs, while other foods can be used to diversify the diet.
Live food must be fresh and well-groomed, because the quality of food digestion and the health of the snake depend on this.

Additionally

Due to the persistent fixation of morphological characteristics that provide the “spitting” mechanism, all spitting cobras develop characteristic behavior that precedes “spitting”: raising the body in a classic stance, raising only the head, opening the mouth slightly, the act of throwing, etc. The cobra always threatens before attacking, this is what the ideas of Indian fakirs are based on. The standard set of body movements includes a threatening stance, inflating the hood and an angry hiss. If this does not work, a poison shot follows. But it's best not to let it happen collared cobra before biting or spitting, getting out of her way in time.
Prevention of bites comes down to one main rule - do not pester cobras. If you wander through their habitats, do not hide - the snake, sensing the approach of a person, will try to hide itself. Of course, if you find yourself near its nest, the snake will fight to the last, but usually the cobra will try to avoid an attack, making do with a demonstration of threat.
Spitting cobras are twice as dangerous as regular venomous snakes - they can not only bite, but also spray venom into the eyes of the victim. Contact of poison on the mucous membrane of the eye is very painful and can lead to the development of conjunctivitis, swelling of the eyelids and headache for several hours. If immediate treatment is not provided, corneal ulceration, uveitis and irreversible blindness occur.
Despite the fact that a cobra bite is one of the most painless among all snake bites (it is not for nothing that its venom is part of a powerful painkiller), when bitten by a collared cobra, quite severe pain, bleeding and local swelling are noted. Later, general symptoms of poisoning occur: drowsiness, nausea, occasionally vomiting, paresthesia and muscle weakness, but a pronounced neurological syndrome is described less frequently than with the bites of real cobras. Breathing becomes shallow and rare, falling blood pressure, a picture of heart failure develops. In severe cases, the victim dies within a couple of hours from paralysis of the respiratory center. Most deaths occur in the first day after the bite.
Most effective way treatment for a bite - immediate administration of Anticobra serum, subcutaneously or intramuscularly, and with rapid development of symptoms - intravenously. As a last resort, a polyvalent serum against the neurotoxic poisons of viper, efa and cobra is suitable. In this case, it is not necessary to inject the serum into the bite site, as it gives a general antitoxic effect.
In the next 5 minutes after the bite, you need to suck out the contents of the wound with your mouth or a blood suction cup. After suction, the wound must be treated with antiseptics, and then a sterile, non-pressure bandage must be applied.
In case of contact with eyes, rinse them immediately with water, then as quickly as possible with saline, and also apply 1.5% Neo-Cortef ointment three times a day for several days. When immediately treating the eyes, rinsing with the serum is not necessary.

Sources

http://www.zmeuga.ru
http://dic.academic.ru
http://www.rentokileesti.ee/ru
http://www.floranimal.ru
http://www.i-nature.ru
http://www.zapishi.net
http://www.infozoo.ru
http://big-snake.narod.ru/
http://myreptile.ru/

Other names

In Russian-language sources, the snake of the species Hemachatus haemachatus is called “Collared Cobra”, in English-language sources – “Ringhal”. In the snake's homeland, South Africa, it was called "spoo-slang" because of its tendency to "spit" venom. Some sources even contain the name “spitting cobra”, but this is incorrect, since in addition to the collared cobra (Hemachatus haemachatus), other types of cobras can spray venom, for example, the large brown spitting cobra (Naja ashei), the Indian spitting cobra cobra (Naja naja sputatrix) or black-necked cobra (Naja nigricollis).

Habitat

The collared cobra lives in South Africa, but it was most often seen in the Southern and South-Eastern Cape Province, Orange Province, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Transkei, South-Eastern Transvaal and Swaziland. Sometimes you can see this type of snake on the borders of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The collared cobra chooses grass meadows for its habitat, although it can adapt to living at sea level and even above it. She can be found basking in the sun, although she still prefers a nocturnal lifestyle.

Content

Keeping a poisonous snake at home, especially a spitting cobra, is a very dangerous and difficult task. We strongly do not recommend keeping such a pet in a home terrarium, because even experienced herpetologists usually do not risk having poisonous snakes at home. Their maintenance requires special conditions: a separate empty room without cracks, a durable terrarium with built-in equipment (UV lamps, thermometers, hygrometers, etc.), special tools (hooks, tongs, fixing sticks, tweezers), a mask for protection eyes, plexiglass shields and gloves. If you still decide to get a collared cobra, you should always have Anti-Cobra serum on hand, or, at worst, a polyvalent serum against the neurotoxic poisons of viper, efa and cobra.

Health to you and your pets!