Indian spectacled snake. Species: Naja naja = Indian cobra, spectacled snake Does the spectacled cobra have echolocation

The Latin name of the king cobra - Ophiophagus hannah - is translated as "eating snakes", but it does not apply to true cobras - representatives of the Naja genus, therefore this snake was isolated as an independent species.

The size and appearance of the king cobra really inspire respect and fear. Still, because the average length of her body is 3-4 meters, but there are individuals with a length of 5-5.5 meters!

It is not difficult to recognize this snake. A distinctive feature of the king cobra is a narrow hood at 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 encircling the entire body.

The queen of all snakes has an extensive range that stretches from India to the Philippines (South India, Pakistan, South China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Greater Sunda Islands and the Philippines).

For no particular reason, the "queen" does not like to be seen. She prefers to stick to 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 prefer to spend most of their time on the ground. During the capture of prey or the pursuit of the enemy, the snake can move quickly. Therefore, the chances of escaping from the snake by flight are not so great. You will learn about the reasons for such aggressiveness a little below. Recently, there has been a trend of relocation of king cobras closer to human habitation, and there is an explanation for this.

Firstly, such a neighborhood often occurs during the rainy season and, secondly, the extensive spread of agricultural production in Asian countries leads to deforestation, which is the natural habitat of these snakes. In addition to this, cobras are often seen in crop areas where many rodents live, and where there are rodents, there are also small snakes - the main food of the king cobra.

Her favorite dish is rat snakes. But at 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 powerful venom that has a neurotoxic effect helps the snake to quickly cope with its prey. It causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, which leads to respiratory arrest and, as a result, to death. The amount of poison injected into the victim when bitten is about 6-7 ml. Such a dose can be fatal even for an elephant, what can we say about a person.

Despite the highly toxic venom and aggressiveness, human deaths from king cobra bites are rare. This is due to the fact that the snake will not waste its "weapon" in vain. First of all, it is necessary for hunting, and in order to scare a person, K. cobra often inflicts “blank bites”. They occur without injection of venom or very little of it to be fatal. If a person received a full bite, then he has no more than half an hour to live. Only the timely administration of an antidote, antivenin, can save him.

Interestingly, the king cobras themselves have developed immunity to their poison, therefore, during the “fights” for the female during the mating season, not one of the gentlemen dies from the bites of an opponent.

January is the beginning of the mating season, when the male goes in search of a female. If there are several applicants, then ritual battles take place. The winner gets the main prize - a female. Then a short acquaintance takes place, during which the male is convinced that the female does not pose a danger to him, and the final stage of mating games begins - mating.

The king cobra is one of the few snakes that builds a nest for their eggs. It is a large pile of rotting foliage, located on a small hill (so that it does not flood heavily 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) (English King Cobra)

After laying eggs, the female becomes very aggressive. She guards them around the clock and is ready to throw herself at anyone who passes by her "treasury". Whether it's a small harmless animal or an elephant. As a result, aggressive behavior and attacks for no apparent reason are often attributed to her, although all her aggressiveness is most often associated with the close location of the nest. In addition, during this period, the toxicity of her poison increases, which leads to even more deaths from her bites.

The incubation period lasts about 3 months, after which small, but already highly poisonous cubs hatch into the world. Before that, the female goes in search of food, so as not to eat her babies from hunger. As a result, only 2-4 out of 20-40 kites reach adulthood.

In India, K. cobra is considered a sacred animal, and its killing is punishable not only by religion, but also by laws. Since 1972, a law has been in force prohibiting the killing of cobras unless absolutely necessary. Punishment - 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 holiday dedicated to the king cobra - Nag-panchami - is celebrated. 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, neck, wrap around their heads. And all these tricks with animals go unpunished. According to Indian beliefs, snakes do not bite anyone on this day. After the holiday is over, all the cobras are taken back to the forest.

King cobras live for about 30 years and are constantly growing throughout this period.

Indian cobra or spectacled snake

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The Indian cobra, or spectacled snake, got its name for a reason. She is bright and extravagant. The main color of her jumpsuit is yellow with blue sparkles and a brown scarf (stripes) at the throat. The back of the overalls is darker - brown, and in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe ribs there is a wonderful identification mark - a white application in the form of pince-nez.

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Among these snakes there are also those that have one eyepiece in the application, these are called monocles.

The Indian cobra grows up to 1.5 - 2 m.

You can meet this beauty in India (hence the name), Central Asia, South China, the islands of the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. The snake does not have certain requirements for a place of residence, it feels great in the dense jungle, and in rice fields, and next to a person: in parks and personal plots.

In July, the female lays from 9 to 19 eggs, from which babies hatch in late August and early September. The Indian cobra does not incubate eggs, as it does, but after laying it is always nearby, protecting future offspring from offenders.

Spectacled snake is a predator and meat eater. She prefers to feast on rodents, amphibians and birds. But its main food is small rodents, so the Indian cobra is respected by farmers, because thanks to its efforts, there are fewer crop pests.

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The poison of the Indian cobra is very toxic, one dried gram is enough to kill 140 medium-sized dogs. On humans, the effects of a bite appear after 10 minutes.

Although Indian cobras love solitude, they have extraordinary artistic abilities, for which they are attracted to participate in the performances of Indian snake charmers. Interestingly, only Indian and Egyptian cobras have learned to tame. The caster plays the pipe, luring the snake out of the basket, and makes it sway to the beat of the music.

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In fact, the snake follows the movements of the musician, preparing for an attack, but it seems that she is dancing. And the caster risks his life every second of his performance. In order to stay alive, he studies the character, habits of his pet in the smallest details and details, and as soon as he sees that she is ready for an attack, he immediately puts it back into the basket. Skilled spellcasters can divert the attention of the snake so much that they succeed in an incredible trick - a kiss with a snake, less skillful - remove the cobra's teeth. But the latter is rarely practiced: firstly, the audience can ask the caster to show the cobra's teeth, and if they are not found, he is cast out in disgrace. Secondly, losing teeth, the cobra loses its poison and cannot digest its prey, therefore it is doomed to a slow and starvation death. Thirdly, changing a pet every 2-3 months is troublesome and costly for a caster.

Fearless cobra tamer

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King cobra or Hamadryad

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The king cobra is the largest venomous snake on the planet. It grows all its life and grows up to 4-5 meters.

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The largest king cobra was caught in Malaysia in 1937, from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, its length was 5.5 m. While it was being transported to the London Zoo, it grew a little, and its length was already 5.7 m. During World War II During the war, zoo workers were forced to kill the giant so that in the event of a bombing of the zoo, the cobra could not escape and cause trouble. The average weight of an adult with an impressive size is only 5-6 kg, so the cobra does not look massive, like a python or anaconda.

When meeting, the king cobras measure their height, each tries to touch the top of the opponent's head, and the one that manages to do this first is the main one. The second one yields and tries to get out of the way as soon as possible.

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The color of the cobra's jumpsuit, depending on the place of residence, varies from olive to dark brown, with white, beige or yellow rings and a yellow belly. The king cobra is called not only because of its size, but also because of the six shields on the back of the head, similar to a crown.

You can meet the King Cobra in South and Southeast Asia. The queen of snakes chooses tropical forests and dense thickets of bushes as her habitat. In densely populated India, forests are being actively cut down. Therefore, the snake had to adapt to new conditions and learn to live next door to humans, although people are not very happy with such a dangerous neighbor.

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During the mating period, males, having collided in the same territory, arrange ritual battle-dances, while they do not bite each other (even if they did bite, nothing bad would happen, because king cobras are immune to their own poison). Naturally, the winner remains near the female. At the same time, the winner is very jealous, and if the loser managed to fertilize the female, he can kill and eat her.

The male takes care of the female for a long time, but not because he is a gallant gentleman, but in order to make sure that she accepts him and will not send him to the forefathers, if something goes wrong.

The female lays 20-40 eggs in the nest. In order not to inadvertently eat the serpents, shortly before their appearance, he crawls away to hunt in order to eat enough.

Have you heard of the famous cobra dance in front of the snake charmer? So, its main participant is the Indian cobra or spectacled snake (lat. Naja naja). It is she who slowly sways from side to side, as if obeying enchanting music. In fact, the snake, of course, cannot hear anything - it simply does not have ears. But why doesn't she bite the trainer?

Yes, simply because he managed to study his ward well. After all, Indian cobras, in general, are not too aggressive. They prefer to scare the enemy with their threatening posture and hiss. Even if the offender does not leave, but rather approaches, the snake will not bite him immediately. To begin with, a cobra will simply hit a careless person with its forehead, and only then can it use its poisonous teeth.

A street magician knows all this very well, therefore, acting carefully, he can even kiss a snake, stroke it or do other tricks with it. Some, however, believe that he first breaks out the cobra's teeth, but this is not so. "Dancing" with a toothless snake means ruining your reputation. And, ultimately, to make less profit.

However, the venom of the Indian cobra is very poisonous, so you should not put such experiments on it. Especially if you met her in the wild. And spectacled snakes live on a rather large territory. Their range extends from Central Asia, India and China all the way to the Philippines and the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

Most often, spectacled snakes are found in rice fields, in the jungle, as well as in gardens and parks. At home, Indian cobras are revered by the local population. It is believed that the drawing in the form of rings on the hood was given to them by the Buddha himself. After all, once upon a time, one of their predecessors opened her hood over the sleeping Buddha and closed it from the sun. In gratitude, he awarded all Indian cobras with such a kind of protection. And the truth is: at the sight of an unusual spectacle pattern on the back, the predator is lost and does not dare to attack from the back.

And these snakes have more than enough enemies. Especially dangerous are the agile ones, able to deftly avoid the attacks of the Indian cobra. Mongooses not only kill the snakes themselves, but also ruin their masonry. Of course, the reptile defends its offspring with the last of its strength, but even if it manages to bite the arrogant animal, most likely it will avoid death.

The length of an adult Indian cobra is 1.5-2 meters. She has a very spectacular variegated color with a predominance of fiery yellow. On smooth skin, a blue sheen is also clearly visible. In general, in different subspecies, the color varies from brown to yellow-gray. Among spectacled snakes, completely black individuals sometimes come across. Young people are easily distinguished by wide horizontal stripes that disappear with age.

Indian cobras are caring mothers. They search for a suitable warm place for masonry for a long time, and then desperately defend it. Sometimes a male can be seen next to the female. You should not approach the couple, as the snakes become very aggressive during this period. As a rule, there are one to two dozen eggs in a clutch (rarely - up to 45).

The incubation period is 2.5-3 months, after which 32-centimeter snakes are born. Babies are not so harmless: they are poisonous and quite independent. They feed on small frogs and lizards. A little later, they switch to mice, rats and bird eggs.

The exact lifespan of the Indian cobra has not been established. It is assumed that she is able to live up to 20-25 years.

Indian cobra, or spectacled snake (lat. Naja naja) is one of the most beautiful and poisonous representatives of the Aspid family (Elapidae). It owes its name to the Portuguese navigators, who called it "cobra di capello" (reptile with a cape).

The characteristic appearance according to ancient legend was bestowed upon her by the Buddha himself. Once he was too tired from a long journey, so he lay down on the ground and fell asleep.

A cobra crawled past and saw a traveler sleeping in the sun. She spread her hood over him, protecting the tired saint from the scorching sun and guarding his sleep. The awakened Buddha was very pleased with such a virtuous deed and, as a token of gratitude, blessed the good creature by laying two fingers on it. Since then, his descendants wear glasses on the back of their heads and enjoy well-deserved respect among the local population.

Spreading

The species is distributed throughout India except for the state of Assam and partly Kashmir, as well as in South China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the islands of the Philippines and the Malay Archipelago.

The spectacled snake has adapted to live in various conditions, but prefers to settle in open peasant fields. It is not afraid of people and often crawls into their dwellings, parks and even crowded bazaars. It really needs warmth, so it is found only where there is a hot summer all year round. It leads a terrestrial lifestyle, but if necessary, swims and climbs trees very well.

Behavior

The Indian cobra goes hunting with the advent of twilight and hunts all night until the morning. It feeds on frogs, toads, small birds and mammals. In cities and villages, it purposefully hunts rats. For this, urban and rural residents living in terrible unsanitary conditions are very grateful to her.

Reptiles will not miss the opportunity to eat bird eggs, they have a positive attitude towards cannibalism, therefore they try to stay away from their relatives, observing proud loneliness.

When meeting with a potential hunting trophy, the hunter raises the front third of the body, assesses the distance, and after a lightning lunge makes a fatal bite. Clinging to the prey, she strongly compresses her jaw and injects poison. When the prey dies, the predator swallows it whole.

The upper jaw is armed with paired poisonous fangs about 7 cm long. Strong gastric juice allows you to almost completely digest any food.

By itself, the Indian cobra is not aggressive. Attacks only for the purpose of self-defense, pre-inflating the hood and offering its appearance to disperse peacefully. At the same time, she raises her head high and hisses loudly. If it swells flat on the ground, it means that it is very frightened and is preparing to flee. The hood consists of 8 pairs of front cervical ribs spread apart, which in a calm state are laid along the spine.

reproduction

The mating season is from January to April during the rainy season. Reptiles form monogamous families and for two months vigilantly guard the masonry until the offspring appears. As a nest, rat holes or tree hollows are used. The female lays from 10 to 30 eggs and most of the time lies on them, curled up in rings and covering her body. Incubation lasts 50-60 days.

The process of hatching from eggs takes 5-6 hours. Small snakes 25-30 cm long are poisonous from the moment of their birth and after a couple of days they begin to hunt on their own. They grow very fast. The first molt takes place on the 3rd, the second on the 7th, the third on the 21st, the fourth on the 30th day. After that, growth slows down, and the intervals between them increase. Sexual maturity occurs at about three years of age.

Relationship with people

The spectacled snake is completely deaf. She does not move to the beat of the melody played on the flute, but by repeating other people's movements and preparing for an attack. Spellcasters, knowing her habits perfectly, accurately choose a safe distance, preventing a possible attack.

Among Buddhists and Hindus, she is revered as a sacred animal and one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu. From ancient times, the ritual of a deadly dance has been preserved in India. Specially trained priestess-dancers perform complex choreographic compositions in front of furious reptiles, and at the end suddenly bend down and kiss them on the head, instantly jumping back.

An incredible trick at first glance is possible due to the fact that the reaction of trained dancers is 5 times faster than the reaction of a snake.

Extravagant girls who study oriental dances from videos are not recommended to acquire exotic asps and try to do something similar at home, preparing for a talent show.

Poison-swollen lips will likely have to be surgically removed. On top of that, it contains substances that damage the nervous system. Symptoms of poisoning appear in the period from 15 minutes to two hours, and death can occur within an hour.

One bite contains 200 ml of poison, and a portion of 20 ml is fatal to humans. The symptoms are very wide. The victim loses the coherence of speech, it is difficult for him to swallow and breathe. Tissue necrosis forms at the site of the bite. Every year in Indochina, several hundred people die, bitten by a spectacled snake.

In many regions of India, the Nag Panchami festival is celebrated annually, at which numerous exorcists and fakirs perform. Previously organized fights between snakes and mongooses (usually ending in the death of reptiles) are banned in modern India, but continue to be held illegally. Indian cobra venom is used for medicinal purposes, mainly to lower blood pressure.

Description

The length of adults is 1.4-1.5 m, males can reach 2.25 m. The color is very variable, it can be from yellowish-gray to brown and black. The belly and throat are yellowish white. Eyes with round pupils are protected by fused transparent eyelids. The body is covered with smooth scales. The ventral side is protected by wide shields laid in one row.

Life expectancy in the wild is about 25 years.

The spectacled snake is distributed throughout India, southern China, Burma, Siam, in the west across Afghanistan, the northeastern parts of Persia and the southern regions of Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea. In the Himalayas, it is found up to a height of 2,500 m.

A spectacled snake chooses a place that she likes and, if nothing forces her to leave, lives there throughout her life. Her favorite dwellings are abandoned mounds of termites, ruins, heaps of stones and wood, holes in clay walls.

Indian cobra 1.4-1.81 m long, fiery yellow, in certain light with an ash-blue sheen. On the back of the head, a pattern resembling glasses is clearly distinguished - a clear light pattern on the back of the neck, which becomes clearly visible when the snake is defending itself. The value of the bright pattern on the dorsal side of the snake is very great - it keeps the predator from attacking, even if he managed to run to the snake from the rear.

The ventral side is gray and often has wide black stripes on the front of the body. The rounded and slightly blunt head smoothly merges into the body. The head is covered with large shields, the upper jaw is armed with paired poisonous fangs, followed by 1-3 more small teeth.

In India, the spectacle snake is an object of reverent reverence and even almost superstitious fear. She is worshiped and cajoled in every way. She even became one of the heroines in religious legends: “When the Buddha once wandered the earth and fell asleep under the rays of the midday sun, a cobra appeared, expanded its shield and blocked the face of God from the sun.

Satisfied with this, the god promised her extraordinary mercy, but forgot about his promise, and the snake was forced to remind him of this, since the vultures made terrible devastation among them at that time. In protection from these birds of prey, the Buddha gave goggles to the cobra, which kites are still afraid of.

If a resident of Malabar finds a poisonous snake in his house, he asks it to leave in the most friendly way. If this does not help at all, then he holds food in front of her to lure her out. And if she doesn’t leave even then, then he calls on the servants of the deity, who, of course, for an appropriate reward, make touching exhortations to the snake, speak to the snake.

Such reverence is not accidental. Not even because the Hindus consider the snake to be a deity. The Indian cobra is very dangerous, and in no case should it be angered, then the snake becomes very aggressive and uncontrollable. Only brought to the extreme, she rushes at the attacker.

The snake hunts only in the late afternoon hours and often continues to crawl late at night. Therefore, it can rightfully be called a nocturnal reptile. Cobra food consists exclusively of small animals, mainly reptiles and amphibians: lizards, frogs and toads. She hunts mice, rats, insects. Often robs bird nests.

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The spectacled snake has quite a few enemies, among which the first place belongs to the mongoose. This small predator fearlessly attacks snakes of any size.

But for a person, an Indian snake is extremely dangerous. Even with a broken tooth, a snake can inflict injury, moreover, in place of broken teeth, no less poisonous substitute teeth soon grow.

Cobra venom of neurotoxic action. A minute later, complete paralysis sets in. The venom of the spectacled cobra is so toxic that a chicken dies from its bite after 4 minutes, and a laboratory mouse after 2 minutes.

But a cobra never bites a person without special need, and even if it makes a throw towards the enemy, it often does not open its mouth (fake throw). Never anger a cobra. Even if she is nearby, you should not beat the snake with a stick or throw any objects at it. This will only anger the reptile, and it will attack in self-defense.