Year of the Snake: Cobra

By Amanda Crow, Guest Contributor

This post is a part of our series, YDV’s Year of the Snake, a celebration of the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar through education about different species of snake to highlight the important roles that snakes play in various ecosystems, and the need for the conservation of these wonderful animals.

The Cobra Snake- are they so feared with their venomous bite, but are they really as “cold” as we think?

You probably have seen the surreal photos of the two puppies trapped in a well and being “protected” by a cobra snake.  According to the second-hand story, the cobra prevented the puppies from nearing a dangerous part of the well and was with them until they were all rescued 48 hours later.  The photos are incredible, but the story has some glaring holes and assumptions.  Is it possible for a cobra to have done this?

First, what is a cobra?  Cobras are a physical classification of venomous snakes described clearly in their Portuguese long name… cobra de capelo or snake-with-hood.  Cobras make up only thirty of the 2900+ snake species, but they are most recognizable to us because of their appearance in film, most notably alongside snake charmers.  While they can be terrifying, cobras have interacted with humans in positive ways just like many other snake species.

Some cool cobra facts:

1)   The hood of a cobra spreads out when they feel threatened because it can scare off potential predators.

2)   The King Cobra is the world’s longest venomous snake reaching up to over 18 feet!  Most surprisingly though is what they prey on….other snakes!

3)   The Rinkhals snake, or ring-necked spitting cobra, is a unique species.  They have two really cool defense mechanisms…play dead very well and spitting venom!  They also give birth to live young, usually around 25-30 babies at a time.

Snakes have had a bad reputation for probably as long as humans have existed.  Some of that is deserved as there are conflicts between species in nature competing for the same things.  Really though – humans have become the primary, dominating agitator.  Humans also have a hard time empathizing and connecting with snakes because of how far removed we are from each other….Snakes and humans have not shared a common ancestor in the evolutionary tree of life for 225 million years!  They are very different creatures but are still intelligent and unique in their own right.  We still have so much to learn about them.

Back to the original question- could this cobra really have protected those pups?  I believe so.  Some snake species give parental care to their eggs or live young.  This indicates to me that snakes as a group have potential capabilities to empathize and sense another’s surroundings and well being.  Creatures must have a form of empathy to understand when their offspring are in need, otherwise they will fail as caregivers.  So, a snake understanding that these puppies were in distress and in potential danger near an edge is quite plausible.  It does not mean the snake cared for the puppies or did so out of love.  Nature can and does work together in unbelievable ways, breaking the notion that it is “cruel and heartless.”  Dr. Jonathan Balcombe explores this issue so beautifully well in his book Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals.

I am not confirming the story with the pictures is true. What I am saying is that as a species we need to reevaluate our negative perceptions of snakes and accept that we let our own biases determine what creatures are capable of empathy.  Opening our circle of compassion to include all animals allows us to break our previous stereotypes and recognize the beauty, intelligence, and empathy of a feared creature such as a snake.

Cobras are very cool and may even be more compassionate than some people I’ve met!

Photo credit: (top) giggag.com and (bottom) lwpkommunikacio