What is a cobra? Hooded venomous snakes explained

After news that a cobra was left in a taxi cab in Sunderland, sparking an alert, here's some information about the striking animals.
Picture from PixabayPicture from Pixabay
Picture from Pixabay

A cobra is a member of any of the various species of highly venomous snakes which can expand their neck ribs to form a hood when threatened.

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However, despite their similarities, not all cobras are closely related.

Cobras are found in Africa and southern Asia. The snakes deliver venom containing neurotoxins from their short fangs.

These work against the nervous system of their prey, which is primarily small mammals and other snakes.

Cobra bites, particularly those from larger species, can be fatal to humans and are resoponsible for thousands of deaths a year in South and Southeast Asia.

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The animals are known in popular culture for their use by snake charmers, who frighten them into assuming their upreared defense posture. The snake sways in response to the movement and perhaps also to the music of the charmer, appearing as if hypnotised.

Charmers sit a safe distance away from the relatively slow-striking animals, and many remove the snakes' fangs to guard against bites.

The world’s largest venomous snake is the king cobra, or hamadryad (Ophiophagus hannah), which is found mainly in the forests of India and Southeast Asia as well as the Philippines and Indonesia. They can grow to 18 feet long and eat mainly other snakes.

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Some species of cobra are "spitters" which propel venom through the fangs using muscular contraction of the venom ducts and by forcing air out of their single lung.

Some species can accurately spit venom into victims' eyes at a distances of more than two metres, capable of causing temporary or even permanent blindness.