Today’s special animal friend is the zebra cobra, Naja nigricincta, a species of spitting cobra native to southern African deserts. They are nocturnal and reclusive, rarely seen except on roads (which are warm) at night. The specimen recently on the loose in Raleigh, NC, has been recaptured. I hope it will find a home with a zoo or university, and I hope nobody in the area died from ophidiophobia. It is a very attractive snake, dark brown or black with distinct white or yellowish stripes. Its head and neck are dark and can be flattened into a hood. Like all cobras, it is highly venomous.
Not much information is available on the webs about this minor cobra species, which was, until 2007, categorized as a subspecies of the Black-necked spitting cobra, Naja nigricollis. The Naja genus is considered “true cobras” and does not include some well-known snakes such as the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah. The Black-necked spitting cobra is found in sub-Saharan African in a wide range that excludes the southern desert habitat of the two subspecies of Naja nigricincta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNbdo_sVNGc
These snakes are described as “aggressive,” but that is misleading. They are not like pit bulls, who will invade your yard and attack your cat while she is napping in the flowerbed. How I wish a pit bull had found the zebra cobra in Raleigh ... but I digress. Anyway, if you accidentally or intentionally disturb a spitting cobra, it is more likely to strike back than to seek to escape, as you can see in this video of this unwise young person:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b10kkWsxaUo
N. nigricolis is considered a “moderately-sized” snake, up to around 7 feet in length. They are found in variety of shades across their range, but most are basically soil-colored. Most have a distinct, wide, black band at the neck, but a few all-white morphs have been observed. Their usual prey is rodents, but they also eat birds, fish, eggs, and reptiles, including other snakes. This is a very adaptable species which occupies rainforest, deciduous forest, grasslands and scrub at altitudes up to 6,000 feet. They are also very successful in cleared forests and agricultural land. They prefer to live near water.
Unlike N. nigricincta, the black-necked cobra can be active during the day as well as at night. In the hottest climates, they can be found during the day in rodent holes, termite mounds, or hollow trees. They are excellent climbers. They are oviparous (egg-laying); a female typically lays 10-15 eggs. The hatchlings are 7 to 10 inches in length and are independent immediately.
A black-necked cobra bites its prey when hunting but can spit venom – very accurately – over 20 feet when defending itself. Venom in the eyes, the usual target, can cause permanent blindness. The venom includes several kinds of toxins, attacking the nerves and heart as well as causing cell necrosis. For all that, the mortality rate for untreated bites in humans is only around 5%. The articles do not mention mortality in dogs.
The black-necked spitting cobra has no listed conservation status. In some cases, this means an animal is too rare or isolated for its population to be evaluated, but in this case, I think it means everyone knows there are plenty of them. The main natural predators are birds of prey, especially several species of “snake eagles” in the genus Circaetus, and other snakes.
I saw a headline just yesterday (I think) about a zebra cobra being loose someplace. I think the place was in New Jersey.
It was far enough away, anyway, that I didn’t read the article.