A long, dark gray-colored snake, it is called the black mamba because the inside of its mouth is black. It is the fastest of snakes, moving sometimes at 9 mph, and is extremely defensive. The Russell's viper is particularly feared in its native India. A tan snake covered with gray spots in white rings, it can hide easily in tall grass. The snake is responsible for many fatalities each year in India where people often walk barefoot.
All cobras have a hood that they can widen to make themselves look larger and fiercer.
The largest hood in our reptile house belong to the famed king cobra. It is unlikely that you will see the king cobra at the Zoo display its beautiful hood. Years in the Zoo have left it rather tame, and immune to the normal disturbances of the Reptile House, and it rarely gets angry enough to spread its hood. Among the most beautiful snakes in the Reptile House is the emerald tree boa, native to the Amazon Basin. A bright green, the snake has adapted perfectly to life in the trees.