|
My report is about cobras. There are several different types of cobras, and they're all very poisonous. You can find cobras in India, South East Asia, Arabia and Africa (Karte). They can get up to 2 meters long. What's characteristic for these snakes is their neckshield which they spread (ausbreiten) when they feel endangered. When cobras get iritated (gereizt), they can lift the upper part of their body up to the height of a standing man. The best reaction for a person being in this situation is standing absolutely still. Should you have the kind of cobra that spits the venom as well, you should keep your eyes shut. For this species can aim the venom directly into your eyes, which can make you turn blind.
The King Cobra is the largest poisonous snake of the world. It can get 3 to 5m long. This kind you find on the Phillipenes, Malaysia and South China. Since there are many rats in large cities, like Bombay, cobras come to hunt their prey (Beute) even there. That's why more than 10 000 people die of a snake bite in India each year.
Cobras don't only eat rats, but also birds and fish, which means that cobras are excellent swimmers.
Snake charmers like presenting their cobras, but the snakes can't hear the music since they're absolutely deaf. All they do is just imitate the movement of the charmer's flute. One of their senses is to scent the environment with their tongue. The venom of the King Cobra can litterally kill an elephant. One tea spoon of dried venom could kill more than 100 000 mice. Even the baby cobras that just hatched are poisonous. The very strong nerve poison of these animals work on the central nervous system. At first it paralyses the respiratory tract and then leads to heart failure.
Cobras have two long teeth in the upper part of their mouth. These teeth are hollow. The poison is produced in a gland and runs through these hollow teeth.
The only enemy of the cobra is the mungo. It's a small, 25-70cm long animal, which is mainly active during the day. It looks like a rat, but belongs to the family of cats. Mungos hunt venomous snakes in general. They're as fast as lightning and their bodies tolearte a high dosage of venom.
The venom can be used to cure sickness. But of course it's given in homocopathical dosages only. It has the positive effect onto heart, lungs and ovaries. It's also used against asthma because of Hayfever.
As you see, cobras are very dangerous animals and herefore not necessarily suitable for a terrarium. But they are quite usefull.
|
