Why cobras are dangerous

They can spit venom a distance of three feet, and they always aim for the eyes. Their venom is a neurotoxin that causes pain and can damage the mucus membrane and cornea. It can even cause blindness. Scientists have even found that they can hit a target about two feet away with percent accuracy. In reality, the snakes don't actually spit. The belly may be uniform in color or ornamented with bars. The throat is light yellow or cream-colored.

The juveniles are jet-black, with yellow or white crossbars on the body and tail and four similar crossbars on the head. The king cobra is regarded as a fierce and aggressive snake and its length and size give it an awe inspiring appearance. The king cobra's deadly fangs are almost 0. Because they are fixed to the upper jaw, they have to be short. If they were longer, they would penetrate the floor of its mouth.

Angled back into the snake's mouth, the fangs help push the prey on its path to the stomach. The king cobra's average size is 10 to 12 feet 3 to 3. King cobras live in northern India, east to southern China, including Hong Kong and Hainan; south throughout the Malay Peninsula and east to western Indonesia and the Philippines.

They prefer streams in dense or open forest, bamboo thickets, adjacent agricultural areas and dense mangrove swamps. They often stay near streams, where the temperature and humidity are relatively constant. They spend almost a fourth of their time up in trees or bushes.

Its eyesight is better than most snakes'. It's good enough to see a moving person almost feet meters away. The cobra's hiss is much lower than most snakes', more like a dog's growl. It is produced by tiny holes in the trachea and is resonated by the lung. To impress a rival, male king cobras resort to wrestling. Group Name: Quiver. Size: 13 feet.

Weight: Up to 20 pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Decreasing. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city.

Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. The smallest species is the Mozambique spitting cobra, which is about 4 feet long 1.

King cobras, the longest of all venomous snakes, can reach 18 feet 5. According to Cobras by Sylvia A. Johnson Lerner, , cobras typically live in hot, tropical areas but are also found in savannahs, grasslands, forests and farming areas in Africa and Southern Asia. They like to spend time underground, under rocks and in trees. Most cobras can stand as tall as a third of their body length. Cobras may hiss loudly at predators and other threats, and some species also spit. Cobras reproduce by laying eggs.

Females typically lay 20 to 40 eggs at a time, which incubate between 60 and 80 days. Wild boars and mongooses are known to steal cobra eggs. The mongoose is the best-known enemy of the cobra. According to Cobras.