The Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica) is a type of cobra

Cobra

Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...

, native to Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

Description

In color the snake is slate to olive grey, olive or tawny brown above, with some or all scales black-edging. Below, salmon pink to purple yellowish, with black bars across the neck and ventrals speckled or edged with brown or black; young specimens sometimes have pink or yellow bars on the throat.

The average length of adults is between 900mm - 1,050mm (2½-3 feet), but largest specimen actually measured was a male 1,540mm (4 feet) long. (Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa]).

Distribution

This species is the most common cobra of the savanna

Savanna

A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

 regions of the tropical and subtropical Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The distribution includes Natal, Low veld south-eastern Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 and Pemba Island and west to southern Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

 and northern Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

. Younger specimens are much more frequently encountered in the open at daytime. Unlike the Egyptian Cobra

Egyptian cobra

The Egyptian cobra is a species in the genus Naja found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest Naja species in Africa.- Description :...

, this species prefers localities near water, to which it will readily take when disturbed.

Toxicology

It is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa. Like the Rinkhals

Rinkhals

The Rinkhals also called the Ringhals or Ring-necked Spitting Cobra is a venomous elapid species found in parts of southern Africa...

, it can spit its venom

Venom

Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...

. Its bite causes severe local tissue destruction (similar to that of the puff adder

Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous viper species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions. It is responsible for causing the most fatalities in Africa owing to various factors, such as its wide distribution and...

). Venom to the eyes can also cause impaired vision or blindness.

Diet

This cobra's diet mainly consists of amphibians, other snakes, birds, eggs, small mammals, and even insects occasionally.

Habits

This snake is nervous and highly strung. When confronted at close quarters this snake can rear up to as much as two-thirds of its length, spread its long narrow hood and will readily "spit" in defense, usually from a reared-up position. By doing this the venom can be ejected at a distance of 2-3 metres (5½ - 8¼ feet), with remarkable accuracy. The spitting cobra does bite depending on its environment and the situation it is in, and also shares the same habit with the Rinkhals

Rinkhals

The Rinkhals also called the Ringhals or Ring-necked Spitting Cobra is a venomous elapid species found in parts of southern Africa...

of feigning death to avoid further molestation.

When in a confined area like a tube the reptile will bite instead of spit.