Fun Chinese Cobra Facts For Kids

A Chinese cobra (Naja atra), belonging to the class, order, suborder, family, genus, and species of Reptilia, Squamata, Serpentes, Elapidae, Naja, and Naja atra, respectively, is a member of the cobra kingdom, phylum Chordata. This species of cobra is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List with a decreasing population trend due to various human activities that include hunting, and pollution that results in loss of habitat.

The Chinese cobra is also known as the Taiwan cobra and is a native of several countries namely southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, northern Vietnam, and Lao PDR. The Chinese cobra habitat mainly includes shrubland, woodland, grassland, and mangroves. The Chinese cobra diet includes various small fish, mammals, and even reptiles such as frogs, snakes, birds, rats, lizards, loaches, eels, and fish. This cobra shows various color compositions depending upon its geographical distribution. It has a dry, scaly skin of colors such as iridescent black, yellow, and brown as well as white to light gray across the body. This cobra has a long mating and egg-laying period and lays nearly 5-23 eggs at a time. On average, the Chinese cobra lifespan ranges between 10-12 years. The Chinese cobra is extremely venomous and is capable of ejecting venom that is fatal for humans. Needless to say, it has accounted for several life-threatening incidents to humans.

Keep reading to know more interesting facts about the Chinese cobra! For more relatable content, check out these northern pine snake facts and Cape file snake facts for kids.

What type of animal is a Chinese cobra?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra), a member of the cobra kingdom, is a type of reptile. It belongs to the animal kingdom of the family Elapidae and genus Naja.

What class of animal does a Chinese cobra belong to?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) belongs to the class Reptilia. The scientific name of this species is Naja atra.

How many Chinese cobras are there in the world?

Although the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is listed as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend, the exact number of individuals that are found living today is unknown.

Where does a Chinese cobra live?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is a native of the east and southeast Asian countries namely, southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, northern Vietnam, and Lao PDR. Some of the Chinese provinces where this cobra is found include Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Zhejiang, and Hubei.

What is a Chinese cobra's habitat?

The Chinese cobra distribution lays across various terrestrial or artificial shrubland, woodland, grassland, and mangroves. They inhabit plains, open fields, forests, rice paddy fields, and so on, and especially the ones that are found near human habitations. They prefer living near riverbanks and clearings during the monsoon season.

Who do Chinese cobras live with?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is a very shy and solitary creature. Even the newborns are abandoned after birth so that they have to fend for themselves. It is only during the mating season when they are found to slither in pairs. This species has been observed hiding under leaves and rocks and is afraid of human confrontations.

How long does a Chinese cobra live?

Although the average lifespan of a cobra is 20 years, the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) lives up to 12 years only.

How do they reproduce?

The cobra kingdom is known to be oviparous, that is, they are found laying eggs like birds. Between the months of March to May, the egg-bearing females of this species travel to the mountains of Vietnam in the western Tonkin region in search of sheltered locations to lay eggs. Here, they reproduce through internal fertilization. The two-month incubations are followed by extended egg-laying periods. The females lay nearly 5-23 eggs.

What is their conservation status?

Although a common species, the International Union For Conservation Of Nature, or the IUCN, has marked the conservation status of the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) as Vulnerable. The last two decades have witnessed a declining population trend of this species where nearly 30-50% of them have perished. They face threats due to human activities such as hunting, and pollution that results in loss of habitat.

What do Chinese cobras look like?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is generally iridescent black in color but some possess white to light gray shades as well, depending upon the geographical region that they belong to. It has several yellow-colored distant transversal double lines all over its body with a grayish abdominal surface. The upper side of its body is brown, gray, or black in color. Narrow light transverse lines cover the dorsal area. A lighter shade is found on the sides of the head. The hood has a spectacle, or a horseshoe, or an O-shaped marking on it. It has small eyes with a round, black pupil and a dark dirty yellow dappled with gray and black colored iris.

How cute are they?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) absolutely lacks cuteness but it does look attractive. The shiny black scales with yellow-colored transversal lines make it look stunning but, only from a distance!

How do they communicate?

Cobras, or snakes in general, do not have an evolved hearing mechanism, and interactions among individuals are very rare. Nonetheless, scientists have studied reptilian communication and discovered instances of social interactions that take place between them. This species of cobra is known to emit a low-frequency hiss. This hiss is also known as a growl. They are usually seen growling when faced with danger or while defending nests and guarding eggs.

How big is a Chinese cobra?

On average, the Chinese cobra size ranges between 3.9-4.9 ft (1.2-1.5 m). They have a medium size, however, several individuals have been recorded to grow up to 78.7 in (199.9 cm). They are more than two times smaller than a king cobra whose length ranges between 10-18.7 ft (3-5.7 m) and are also found in China.

How fast can a Chinese cobra move?

The cobras are the fastest-moving snakes in the world! On average, the speed of a Chinese cobra range between 18-18.6 mph (29-30 kph).

How much does a Chinese cobra weigh?

While the exact weight of Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is not known it is estimated to weigh between 5-7 lb (2.3-3.2 kg) which is half the weight of a king cobra that weighs around 13 lb (5.9 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no male or female names assigned to this species.

What would you call a baby Chinese cobra?

A baby Chinese cobra is known as a snakelet.

What do they eat?

Having a carnivorous diet, this cobra species feeds on various small fish, mammals, and even reptiles. The adult cobras eat mostly frogs, snakes, birds, rats, lizards, loaches, eels, and fish. However, they only prey on toads and frogs during the mating season of amphibians. Amphibians are preyed upon by the juveniles.

Are they poisonous?

The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is extremely poisonous and has the capacity to kill 20 people at once. Although they are very shy and alert and are afraid of human confrontations, they get very aggressive, especially the juveniles for their vulnerability, when they sense danger. They generally spread their hood and strike readily during such situations. They can also spit or eject venom towards a threat located at a distance of 6.6 ft (2 m).

Would they make a good pet?

There are several reasons why the Chinese cobra, or reptiles in general, do not make good pets. Firstly, the entire cobra family is known for being one of the most venomous reptiles in the world and the Chinese cobra is no exception. The venom that the Chinese cobra ejects is fatal for humans. Secondly, they are shy creatures that prefer to live in solitude. Thirdly, they cannot accommodate themselves in enclosed areas as they prefer to inhabit large, open spaces such as fields and forests. Even if one can provide acres of field for their reptilian friend, chances are the creature will never befriend them. Lastly, they need a specialized diet, and hence, feeding them anything else will not be appropriate. Hence, the idea of petting a reptile must be discarded at once.

Did you know...

It is easy to confuse a Chinese cobra with a monocled cobra. However, one can identify them correctly by taking into account the scale counts of lower ventral and subcaudal scales. This task becomes all the easier for those who can distinguish the sex of the individuals.

They have never been recorded to migrate and do not have a fragmented population.

A reticulated python had reportedly killed a king cobra while it also died.

Indian cobra bites can also kill you if proper medical treatment is not administered.

How dangerous is a Chinese cobra?

It is needless to say that the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) is extremely dangerous since it is poisonous. In fact, the entire cobra family is known to be poisonous. Although there are various venomous snakes that have more potent venom, the venom of a Chinese cobra contains postsynaptic neurotoxins and cardiotoxins that are hazardous for animals and humans alike and have the capacity to kill 20 people at once.

How fast can a Chinese cobra kill you?

Although not the most potent venom among snakes, as little as 0.2 fl oz (5.9 ml) of a Chinese cobra's venom has the capacity to kill 20 people or a hippopotamus at once. Its venom contains postsynaptic neurotoxins and cardiotoxins that are extremely hazardous for humans. Some of the common symptoms that follow after a snakebite are wound darkening, localized redness, unbearable pain, respiratory issues, lockjaw, voice loss, fever, and necrosis. However, fatality is considerably low nowadays due to the wide availability of antivenom injections.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles from our Burmese python interesting facts and mud snake surprising facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable lined snake coloring pages.

Second image by Thomas Brown.