The last few weeks of Wild Facts have been suggested by my beautiful girlfriend, Sylviane, and I would like to thank her for the hard work she has done researching cool animals to write about. She has made writing these Wild Facts a lot easier and she has found some pretty interesting animals along the way, so THANK YOU, Sylviane! Today’s Wild Fact was inspired by Miranda who is a student working hard on a 7 month project about Cobra’s. Miranda got me thinking about a newly discovered snake, the Giant Spitting Cobra. You can thank Miranda after reading about this amazing animal!
Deadly Spit
The Giant Spitting Spitting Cobra is definitely not a snake you want to irritate. They are capable of growing up to 2.74 m (9′) and are believed to have the most venomous bite of all the Cobras. The venom of the Giant Spitting Cobra has two very important uses. The first is to make sure they get a nice warm meal. Yes, they will use the venom to kill birds, lizards and other snakes. I am just glad that humans is not on that list! Although, humans aren’t in the clear yet, since the second use for this venom is as a self-defence mechanism for this large snake. Believe it or not, they can actually spray their venom several yards, which is probably how they received their common name. Typically, the Giant Spitting Cobra will aim for your eyes since that gives it the best chance to escape. I can just imagine the surprised look on the predators face when the snake spits at them.
Don’t Wait For Treatment
If you are on the wrong side of a venomous bite or spray from the Giant Spitting Cobra, then you had better see a doctor quickly. This toxin is know to kill the cells around the wound, which is scary when you consider that the snake is aiming for your eyes. People have been known to go blind as a result of being sprayed by a Spitting Cobra. For the most part, if you get treatment immediately then you will most likely live to tell your story, so don’t wait around.
That does it for the last Wild Fact of the week. Enjoy your weekend and we will meet up again on Monday.
