In the world there are many varieties of cobras - only 27 species. All of them are poisonous and can be dangerous to humans. One of these snakes is a Chinese cobra, or as it is also called Taiwanese cobra. This kind of snakes will be discussed.
Description of Chinese Cobra
The scientific name of the Chinese cobra is Naja Atra. This is a fairly large snake with an average length of 1.6-1.8 meters, but there are also larger specimens, but this happens quite rarely. The average life expectancy in nature is about 25-30 years, and cobras grow throughout their lives. And the bigger the snake, the older it is.
Often, Chinese cobra is called black cobra for its dark body color. There are also light, almost white specimens, but they are extremely rare and often become the subject of collections among exotic lovers both in live form and in the form of a trophy.
The head of the snake is wide, with large scales, like all cobras has a kind of hood, which it inflates when it is in great danger.
Cobras are considered the most poisonous of all species of land snakes, and the Chinese cobra is no exception. In one bite, she is able to inject up to 250 milligrams of extremely toxic cardio-toxic and neuro-toxic poison into her victim. On average, the dose of poison ranges from 100 to 180 milligrams. It affects the victim’s nervous system, causing severe pain. A Chinese cobra rarely poses a danger to a person if it does not pose a threat to its life or egg laying. The snake would rather crawl out than spend the poison on an object that it is not able to eat. This rule applies to almost all poisonous snakes.
If a person is subjected to the bite of such a snake, then if measures are taken in time, he can be saved. In regions where these snakes are widespread, in medical institutions there is an antidote and if it is administered within 1.5-2 hours, the bite will not be fatal, but it will not do without consequences. As a rule, serious scars caused by tissue necrosis remain. Mortality after a bite of a Chinese cobra thanks to modern medicine has been reduced to 15%.
Moreover, a cobra can bite without injecting poison, so to speak, to make a warning bite in case of danger. The Chinese cobra has one very interesting tool for hunting or defending itself from enemies: it has ability to shoot poison at a distance of 2 meters. The accuracy of such shooting is very high. If such poison gets into the eyes of a person, that is, there is almost a 100% chance of blindness if urgent measures are not taken.
Habitat
These snakes live in China, especially in its southern and eastern parts, as well as everywhere in Vietnam and Thailand. Basically, these are foothills or flat territories. There are quite common cases when snakes can inhabit farmland on land, which represents a significant danger to farmers. It is precisely these places that are most dangerous for humans, since the chances of meeting and angering a snake in a field on arable land increase many times.
But still, the most common habitats of Chinese cobras are tropical rainforests and coastal zones of rivers, far from humans. Often they can be found in mountain forests at altitudes of up to 1700-2000 meters. Now there is an active deforestation for agricultural needs, thereby disturbing their habitat, and Chinese cobras are forced to move closer to humans in search of food and places to live.
Food
Poisonous snakes bite only those whom they can eat. Therefore, their diet is composed of medium-sized vertebrates. These creatures feed mainly on rodents and lizards. The largest individuals can even eat a rabbit, but this is extremely rare. If the snake lives near the river, then its diet expands significantly, frogs, toads and even small birds fall into it, it happens that fish. Occasionally it can attack other, smaller relatives. Among different snakes and Chinese cobra in particular, cases of cannibalism are quite common, when adults destroy the nests of other snakes and eat eggs during the absence of the female, and also do not disdain cubs, including their own.
In the natural environment of enemies, the Chinese cobra has little. The most famous of them - mongoose and wild cats in a forest environment, and in the open area it can be birds of prey. But the greatest danger to snakes is the anthropogenic factor, environmental pollution and the extinction of eating habitat. It is he who radically affects the number of these snakes.
Breeding
The mating season of the Chinese cobra begins in early summer, when snakes are most active. Before mating, several males gather near the female. Between them begins a real battle. The battle looks very impressive, often there are severe injuries. The males try to crush each other, they can bite, but they do not use poison, and the loser leaves the battlefield. After one winner is left, mating occurs.
Then the female lays eggs, their number may fluctuate from 7 to 25 and more. Much depends on external conditions: power, temperature and other important factors. Before laying eggs, the female begins to build a nest. She does this in a very curious way, because like all snakes they have no limbs to carry out such complex work. For this, the snake chooses a suitable pit and with its body rakes there leaves, small branches and other building material for the future nest. The temperature of the snake is controlled by the number of leaves, if it is necessary to increase it, it picks up foliage, and if it is necessary to cool the masonry, then it throws them back.
The female is vigilantly guarding her masonry and at this time does not eat anything, is absent only in order to quench her thirst. At this time, the Chinese cobra is particularly aggressive. It happens that it attacks large animals, such as a wild boar, if it is dangerously close to the masonry. This process lasts 1.5-2 months. For 1-2 days before the offspring should be born, the female goes on a hunt. This is due to the fact that she is very hungry and in order to not eat her children in the heat of hunger, she eats hard. If the female does not, then she can eat most of her offspring. The length of the cubs after they emerge from the eggs is about 20 centimeters. After the serpents hatched, they are ready for independent life and leave the nest. Interestingly, they already have poison and they can hunt almost from birth. At first, young Chinese cobras feed mainly on insects. After young snakes grow to 90-100 centimeters, they completely switch to an adult diet.
In captivity, this species of cobra, like many other species of snakes, breeds poorly, since it is not always possible to create ideal conditions for them. But still in some provinces of China and Vietnam they are quite successfully bred on farms.
Human use
Before, cobras, including Chinese ones, were often used as pets for rodent control, and this was common practice. Even now, in some temples of China and Vietnam, you can meet these snakes. But time goes ahead, people moved to big cities and the need for such use has long disappeared. However, even now people use snakes for their own purposes.
Despite the fact that Chinese cobras are quite problematic, and sometimes dangerous for captivity, they have found their application in the national economy of some countries. The most successful breeding of Chinese cobra has been and remains in Zhejiang province. The venom of these snakes successfully used in pharmaceuticals, local chefs use meat for food, and the skin of these snakes is a valuable material for making accessories and souvenirs for tourists.
Currently, the black Chinese cobra is in danger of extinction.
