Spitting Cobras of South Africa
Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica)
There are Five types of Cobras found in South Africa, two of them are Spitting Cobras.
The Mozambique Spitting Cobra is by far the more common with a wide distribution over the northern and eastern regions of South Africa. My first Mozambique Spitting Cobra I caught in Bulawayo Zimbabwe at age 16. A friend had one on their veranda one night and called us to remove it. Armed with my mothers Sun Glasses, a thirty cm stick and a torch, I managed to safely catch it after a 5 minute chase and getting "spat" all over.
I have since caught them in Pretoria, Rustenberg, Warmbaths, Durban, Hoedspruit and Kruger National Park.
Black Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricollis woodi)
This is more rear and found in parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape in South Africa. On my one and only visit to the town of Springbok in the Northern Cape I was lucky enough to come across one and catch and release it. They are most beautiful and seem to never run out of venom to spit.
There is one more "Spitting" snake in South Africa, the Rinkhals - which is not a true Cobra.
Those snakes have a Lethal hiss... the sounds they produce can cause terror and malfunction before they even spit on you, especially if you are afraid of snakes like I do. Nice article.
I have to admit, I'm afraid of snakes. They do not thrill me at all but this was a nice piece of information. I learnt something new about snakes. Still terrified when I see one though.