Cobras

Black-Necked Spitting Cobras

**Cobras** are animals that appear in the Legends of The Lion Guard universe. They live in the Pride Lands, the Outlands and the Tree of Life.

## Appearance

Egyptian cobras are relatively slender-bodied snakes. They have red or brown scales. All have a characteristic ability to raise the front quarters of their bodies off the ground and flatten their necks to appear larger to a potential predator.

Despite its colors varying based on regions, black-necked spitting cobras can be black or pale gray with yellow-red ventral sides, a broad, black neck band, and an orange or pink bar on the neck.

Indian cobras have a long, round body with colors ranging from brown to black; underbellies are a light color, mostly white. Their bodies are dotted with white-and-yellow spectacle markings which can form bands across the body.

King cobras are yellow, green, brown, or black in color, usually possessing yellow chevrons or crossbars. The belly can be uniform or barred, and the throat is cream to yellow-colored.

True to their name, red spitting cobras are brick-red to orange in color, though they can be gray, brown, pink, or yellow as well. They have a single, thick dark band about their throats and necks.

Cape coral cobras are slender, small, and have short heads. Their colors range from red, orange, to yellow, banded by black rings fully encircling the body but not fully on the tail.

Monocled cobras have an O-shaped hood pattern. Dorsal colors can be yellow, gray, brown, or blackish with or without jagged cross bands. Above, it can be olive, brown, to black in color with or without a yellow-orange colored O-shaped marking on the hood. It has black spots on each side of the hood and two cross bars on the belly, which is the same shade as the back but paler. As the cobra ages, it becomes lighter.

Snouted cobras are large. Dorsal scales vary from yellow to gray-brown, dark brown, or blue-black, and ventral scales are yellow with dark mottlings. The species has seven to eleven cross bars, yellow-brown in color with the lighter bands being half the width of the darker bands.

The ringed water cobra is heavy-bodied and has a short, broad, flat head with smooth scales and a long tail. Their body colors range from a glossy brown to grayish-brown or reddish-brown with black bands spread throughout. The belly is yellow and the tail is pure black.

Considered to be the largest of any true cobra species in the world, the forest cobra has a flat, broad head and a slender tail. Scalation of the forest cobra is smooth, glossy, and oblique, coming in three main color morphs. Variants that live in forests or fringes are a glossy black and have cream or white chins, throats, or bellies with black cross bars and blotches. Sides of the head have strong black and white markings. The second morph, which live in savannas, is banded with yellow and black and has a black tail; the head is brownish-yellow and the lips, chin, and throat are pure yellow. The third in final morph, which live in eastern Africa's coastal plains, range from brownish to blackish-brown above and paler below. The belly is yellow or cream, speckled with black or brown. The tail of the cobra is black. Some forest cobras documented in west Africa have been reported to be melanistic (all black in color).

## Information

Most cobras hunt at dawn or dusk although some species are known to forage during the heat of the day. Cobras, like other snakes, can go for days or even months without feeding – depending on the size of their last meal and their recent activity.

Although some species of cobra show more specialization in their preferred diets, most species are opportunists and will take whatever food is available including small mammals, birds, lizards, amphibians, other snakes, eggs and even carrion. Cobras are highly venomous snakes and all cobras regardless of species are potentially deadly.

While most bite to defend themselves there are a few that spit or shoot their venom out from their fangs. These cobras are called spitting cobras.

## Notable Cobras

* Helga's Group
	+ Helga
	+ Hista
	+ Ushari
	+ Giza
	+ Lela
	+ Binti
	+ Birch
	+ Kaa
	+ Khan
	+ Masha
	+ Azizi
	+ Nisha
	+ Nyuna
	+ Ashtaa
	+ Cibo
	+ Darann
	+ Kobi