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Indian Cobra
The spectacled cobra — India's iconic hooded snake, and one of the "big four" behind most of the country's serious snakebites.
How to spot it
A medium-sized venomous snake — brown, black or olive — best known for the wide hood it spreads when threatened, often marked with a "spectacle" pattern on the back. Its exact colour and markings vary a great deal across the country.
Where it lives
Almost everywhere in India — fields, forests, wetlands and the edges of villages and farms where rodents are plentiful. It shelters in holes, termite mounds, rock piles and old buildings.
What it eats
A carnivore that hunts rodents, frogs, birds and other snakes. Because it follows rats, it is often drawn to homes, granaries and farmland — which is exactly where people and cobras tend to meet.
Behaviour & life
Cornered, it rears up, spreads the hood and hisses in warning — it would far rather escape than bite. It is the classic snake of the snake-charmer's basket, a practice now illegal, and one of the "big four" behind most serious snakebite in India.
In India
Protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Its venom is medically serious, yet it is also a natural rat-controller — so the honest message is caution and coexistence: keep surroundings clear, never handle one, and after any bite get to a hospital for antivenom rather than trying home remedies.
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