Naya cobra. Spectacled snake (Indian cobra)
Indian cobra(from the Latin Naja naja) is a poisonous scaly snake from the family of asps, a genus of true cobras. This snake has a body that tapers to a tail, 1.5-2 meters long, covered with scales.
Like all other types of cobras, the Indian cobra has a hood that opens when this adder is excited. The hood is a kind of extension of the body, which arises due to the expanding ribs under the influence of special muscles.
The color palette of the cobra's body is quite variegated, but the main ones are shades of yellow, brown-gray, and often sandy colors. Closer to the head there is a clearly defined pattern, reminiscent of pince-nez or glasses along the contour, which is why it is called Indian spectacled cobra.
Scientists divide the Indian cobra into several main subspecies:
- blind cobra (from Latin Naja naja coeca);
- monocle cobra (from Latin Naja naja kaouthia);
- spitting Indian cobra (from Latin Naja naja sputatrix);
- Taiwanese cobra (from Latin Naja naja atra);
- Central Asian cobra (from the Latin Naja naja oxiana).
In addition to those mentioned above, there are several other very few subspecies. Often the Indian spectacled cobra is also attributed to the species Indian king cobra, but it's a slightly different look that has big sizes and some other differences, although very similar in appearance.
Pictured is an Indian spitting cobra
The Indian cobra, depending on the subspecies, lives in Africa, almost throughout Asia and, of course, on the Indian continent. In the territory former USSR these cobras are widespread in the open spaces modern countries: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan - a subspecies of the Central Asian cobra lives here.
Chooses to live in various areas from the jungle to the mountains. On rocky terrain it lives in crevices and various burrows. In China, people often settle in rice fields.
Character and lifestyle of the Indian cobra
This type of poisonous snake is not at all afraid of humans and can often settle near his home or in fields cultivated for crops. Often Indian cobra found in abandoned, dilapidated buildings.
This type of cobra never just attacks people unless it sees danger and aggression from them; it bites, injecting poison, only in defense, and then, most often, it is not the cobra itself that serves as a deterrent, but its ominous hiss.
When making the first throw, it is also called a deception, the Indian cobra does not make poisonous bite, but simply makes a headbutt, as if warning that the next throw could be fatal.
In the photo there is an Indian cobra naya
In practice, if the snake managed to inject venom during the bite, then the bitten person has little chance of survival. One gram of Indian cobra venom can kill more than a hundred medium-sized dogs.
Spitting cobra what is the name of the subspecies of Indian cobra, generally rarely bites. The method of its protection is based on the special structure of the dental canals through which the poison is injected.
These channels are located not at the bottom of the teeth, but in their vertical plane, and when danger appears in the form of a predator, this snake sprays poison on it, at a distance of up to two meters, aiming at the eyes. If the poison gets into the eye shell it leads to a burn of the cornea and the animal loses clarity of vision; if the poison is not quickly washed off, then further complete blindness is possible.
It should be noted that the Indian cobra has short teeth, unlike other venomous snakes, and are quite fragile, which often leads to their chipping and breaking off, but new teeth very quickly appear to replace damaged teeth.
In India there are many cobras living in terrariums with humans. People train this type of snake using the sounds of wind instruments, and enjoy performing various performances with their participation.
There are many videos and photo of Indian cobra with a man who, playing the pipe, makes this adder rise up on its tail, opening its hood and, as it were, dancing to sounding music.
Indians have a positive attitude towards this type of snake, considering them national treasure. This people has many beliefs and epics associated with the Indian cobra. On other continents, this adder is also quite famous.
One of the most famous stories about the Indian cobra is the fairy tale famous writer Rudyard Kipling called "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi". It tells about the confrontation between a fearless little one and an Indian cobra.
Indian cobra nutrition
The Indian cobra feeds, like most snakes, small mammals, mainly rodents and birds, as well as amphibious frogs and toads. They often destroy bird nests by eating eggs and chicks. Other species of reptiles are also used for food, including smaller poisonous snakes.
Large Indian cobra can easily swallow in one go big rat or small. For a long time, up to two weeks, a cobra can go without water, but having found a source, it drinks quite a lot, storing liquid for the future.
The Indian cobra, depending on its habitat, hunts in different times day and night. It can search for prey on the ground, in water bodies and even in high vegetation. Outwardly clumsy, a snake of this type excels at crawling through trees and swimming in water, looking for food.
Reproduction and lifespan of Indian cobra
Sexual maturity in Indian cobras occurs in the third year of life. The breeding season takes place in winter in January and February. After 3-3.5 months, the female snake lays eggs in the nest.
The clutch averages 10-20 eggs. This type of cobra does not hatch eggs, but after laying them they are constantly close to the nest, protecting their future offspring from external enemies.
After two months, the baby snakes begin to hatch. Newborn babies, freed from the shell, can easily move independently and quickly leave their parents.
Considering that they are born immediately poisonous, these snakes do not need special care, since they can protect themselves even from large animals. The lifespan of the Indian cobra varies from 20 to 30 years, depending on its habitat and the availability of sufficient food in these places.
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 importance 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 African continent, not 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 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 time 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, the 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 and loss of vision. Unlike other types of venomous snakes, the reptile's 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 considered a 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 up their mouths 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.
Species: Naja naja = Indian cobra, spectacled snake
Indian cobra, or spectacled snake (Naja naja), called in India tshinta-negu, nalla-pamba, naga, in Burma mue-nauk, 1.4-1.81 m long. It is fiery yellow in color, in a certain light with ash-blue shine; this color seems, however, pale, since the spaces between the scales are light yellow or white, and often the corners of individual scales are of the same color. On the back of the head is light yellow or White color so dominant that the darker one appears only in the form of specks, and it is in this place that a pattern resembling glasses clearly stands out. These glasses are bordered by two black lines and are usually much lighter than the surrounding parts, while the places corresponding to the lenses of the glasses are either pure black in color or represent a light ocular spot surrounded by a dark edge. The ventral side is dirty white and often has wide black transverse stripes on the anterior third of the body. But often there are specimens that are black on top, blackish-brown below, those that are olive-brown both above and below, and finally, those that are colored grayish on top and whitish below; in addition, in some areas this species does not have a conspicuous pattern on the back of the head. The main differences from related species are the absence of large scutes behind the occipital scutes, the number of rows of scales in the middle of the body, of which there are 19-23, and the slight height of the sixth upper labial scute.
Spectacled snake distributed throughout India, southern China, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, the greater Sunda Islands with the exception of Sulawesi, Andaman Islands and Ceylon, and in the west along Afghanistan, the north-eastern parts of Persia and the southern regions of Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea. In the Himalayas, it is found up to an altitude of 2,500 m. Like most other snakes, it is apparently not associated with a specific area, on the contrary, it settles wherever it finds convenient shelter and enough food. Its favorite home consists of abandoned termite mounds, ruins, heaps of stones and wood, holey clay walls and similar heaps of rubbish, containing holes and hidden gaps that serve as a refuge for the spectacled snake. Tennent points out that in Ceylon it, along with the so-called big-eyed snake (Ptyas mucosus), represents the only snakes that do not avoid the proximity of human dwellings. She is attracted here by the sewage ditches, and perhaps by the prey that she expects to get here, namely rats, mice and small chickens.
Often a flood forces her to look for the higher parts of the country that are not flooded, and at the same time the huts built there. As long as she is not disturbed, she usually lies lazily and listlessly in front of the entrance to her home, and when a person appears, as a rule, she hastily hides and only when driven to the extreme rushes at the attacker. If she is not irritated, for example, if she goes hunting, she crawls along the ground wriggling, with her head barely raised and her neck not widened; if she is irritated or at least frightened, she immediately takes the position characteristic of this type, preparing for an attack. Although it is a diurnal snake, it avoids the heat and generally the burning rays of the sun and begins hunting only in the late afternoon hours and often continues to crawl late at night, and therefore some authors clearly consider it a nocturnal animal.
All observers call her movements slow, but she is more agile than they think: she not only knows how to swim, but to a certain extent also climb. One cobra, which fell into the fortress moat and could not climb its steep walls, swam easily and freely for several hours, holding its head and neck shield above the water; others even went to sea voluntarily. While the Wellington, a government fishery vessel, was anchored in Kudremele Bay, about a quarter of a mile from the shore, one day, about an hour before sunset, a spectacled snake was spotted from her. She swam straight towards the ship and, when she approached 12 m, the sailors began throwing pieces of wood and other objects at her and forced her to turn towards the shore. The next morning they found the animal's footprint on the shore where it had emerged from the water and tracked it to the nearby jungle. Later, one cobra was found and killed on the same ship, which could only have reached it through the anchor chain; this proves that she can climb well too. Tennent heard that one spectacled snake was found on the top of a coconut tree; “she was attracted, as they said, by the palm sap that was oozing at that time”; in reality, she probably climbed the palm tree to hunt birds or rob nests. They are often spotted on the roofs of houses.
The cobra's food consists exclusively of small animals and, it seems, mainly of reptiles and amphibians, at least Tennent indicates lizards, frogs and toads as the prey it pursues, Fairer, in addition, fish and insects. That it should be dangerous for young chickens, mice and rats is sufficiently clear from the data I cited from the first of the above-mentioned researchers; that she also robs bird nests and especially looks for eggs of domestic birds in chicken coops and dovecotes, Fairer mentions. She has little interest in other snakes and, apparently, does not pursue them. It drinks a lot, but can also tolerate thirst for long periods of time without harm, as observed in captive cobras for weeks or even months.
Regarding the reproduction of the cobra, Fairer says that it lays up to 18 elongated, white, soft-shelled eggs, which are equal in size to the eggs of a domestic pigeon. Finson increases that number to 12-20. The Indians say about the spectacled snake what the ancients say about its relative Egyptian cobra: that the male and female exhibit a certain mutual affection, that where you catch one cobra, for the most part, soon after that you notice another, etc., in a word, that among spectacled snakes there is marriage life, and that both sexes resolutely stick together. Tennent notes that he had two occasions to make observations that seem to confirm this story. One adult cobra was killed in the bathhouse of the government house in Colombo, and "its mate" was found the next day at the same place; in the same way, when a cobra fell into the fortress ditch, then that same morning its “comrade” was found in the neighboring ditch. Did this happen precisely during the mating period and, therefore, can be explained very naturally, Tennent does not say anything about this, and therefore we do not know how much this can be considered a matter of chance. Regarding the cubs, the Sinhalese claim that they become poisonous no earlier than the 13th day, when the first molt occurs.
The Latin name of the king cobra - Ophiophagus hannah - translates as “snake-eating”, but it does not belong to the true cobras - representatives of the genus Naja - so this snake was isolated as an independent species.
Dimensions and appearance King cobras truly command respect and fear. Of course, after all average length its body is 3-4 meters, but there are individuals 5-5.5 meters long!
It is not difficult to recognize this snake. Distinctive feature The king cobra has a narrow hood in the area of the back of the head and neck, decorated with 6 large dark shields in the form of a semicircle. The main color of the snake is brown or greenish-brown. It alternates with dark rings surrounding the entire body.
The queen of all snakes has a vast habitat that extends from India to the Philippines (South India, Pakistan, South China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Greater Sunda Islands and the Philippines).
For no particular reason, the “queen” does not like to be seen. She prefers to stay in dark caves or holes, of which there are a great many in the jungle.
They are also excellent tree climbers and good swimmers, but still most They prefer to spend time on the ground. When catching prey or pursuing an enemy, the snake can move quickly. Therefore, the chances of escaping from a snake by flight are not so great. You will learn about the reasons for such aggressiveness a little below. IN Lately There is a tendency for king cobras to move closer to human habitation, and there is an explanation for this.
Firstly, such proximity often occurs during the rainy season and, secondly, the widespread spread of agricultural production in Asian countries leads to deforestation, which is natural environment habitat of these snakes. In addition to this, cobras are often spotted in crop areas where there are many rodents, and where there are rodents, there are also small snakes - the main food of the king cobra.
Her favorite dish is rat snakes. But given any other opportunity, she is not averse to hunting other species, including poisonous ones. In cases of their deficiency, the “queen” can switch to large lizards, but this does not happen so often.
A potent venom that has a neurotoxic effect helps the snake quickly deal with its prey. It causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, which leads to respiratory arrest and, as a result, death. The amount of poison injected into the victim during a bite is about 6-7 ml. Such a dose can be fatal even for an elephant, let alone a human.
Despite the highly toxic venom and aggressiveness, deaths from king cobra bites are rare. This is due to the fact that the snake will not waste its “weapons” in vain. First of all, it is necessary for hunting, and in order to intimidate a person, the cobra often inflicts “idle bites.” They occur without injection of poison or very little of it to lead to fatal outcome. If a person receives a full-fledged bite, then he has no more than half an hour to live. Only timely administration of the antidote – antivenin – can save him.
Interestingly, the king cobras themselves have developed immunity to their venom, so during “fights” for the female during the mating season, none of the gentlemen dies from the bites of an opponent.
January – beginning mating season when the male goes in search of a female. If there are several contenders, then ritual battles take place. The winner gets Grand Prize– female. Then a short acquaintance occurs, during which the male becomes convinced that the female does not pose a danger to him, and the final stage begins mating games- mating.
King Cobra- one of the few snakes who build a nest for their eggs. It is a large pile of rotting leaves, located on a small hill (so that it does not flood too much during tropical downpours). There the female lays from 20 to 40 eggs, and then constantly maintains a certain temperature in it (from 25 to 29 C°).
King cobra or hamadryad (lat. Ophiophagus hannah) (eng. King Cobra)
After laying eggs, the female becomes very aggressive. She guards them around the clock and is ready to attack anyone who passes by her “treasure.” Be it a small harmless animal or an elephant. As a result, she is often credited aggressive behavior and an attack for no apparent reason, although all its aggressiveness is most often associated with the close location of the nest. In addition, during this period the toxicity of its venom increases, which leads to even more deaths from its bites.
The incubation period lasts about 3 months, after which small, but already highly poisonous cubs hatch. Before this, the female goes in search of food so as not to eat her babies out of hunger. As a result, out of 20-40 baby snakes adult life reach only 2-4.
In India, the cobra is considered a sacred animal, and its killing is punishable not only by religion, but also by law. Since 1972, there has been a law prohibiting the killing of cobras unless absolutely necessary. Punishment is imprisonment for up to 3 years.
Images of K. cobra can often be seen in temples. Hindus believe that she understands mantras - sacred spells. According to their belief, this snake has purity and holiness and brings wealth to the house.
Once a year, a festival dedicated to the king cobra is celebrated - Nag Panchami. On this day, Hindus bring snakes from the forest and release them in temples or right on the streets. Daredevils put them on their hands, necks, and wrap them around their heads. And all these pranks with animals go unpunished. According to Indian beliefs, snakes do not bite anyone on this day. After the end of the holiday, all the cobras are taken back to the forest.
King cobras live for about 30 years and constantly grow throughout this period.
