No. 0019 / 1 402

Forest cobra

Naja melanoleuca

名前について： Melanoleuca comes from Ancient Greek and means "of black and white".1

命をうばうこともある治療しないと命にかかわる。かまれたら、急いで助けを呼ぼう。

コブラ、マンバ、アマガサヘビ

かむ食べもの：肉

人への危険: とても危険治療を受けないと、人の命をうばうことがある。

The forest cobra is a large, highly venomous snake that lives in central and western Africa. It is the largest true cobra, and it is one of the few African cobras that lives in high forest. It is dangerous, so anyone bitten needs urgent medical care.1

すんでいる場所

Mainly central and western Africa, including Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo1

アフリカ

ホーム

It lives in lowland forest, moist savanna and mangroves in west Africa. It is adaptable and can live in drier areas, and it is often found in and around central African towns. People may meet it in junk piles, unused buildings, hollow logs, holes and fruit plantations, where it sometimes lives in the trees.1

長さ

1.4 mから3.2 m (4.6 ftから10 ft)1

体重

2 kgから3.6 kg (4.4 lbから7.9 lb)1

最高速度

時速約8.7 km（時速5.4マイル）

陸で, おおまかな予想

何を食べるの？

It is a generalist and eats a wide range of prey, from large insects to small mammals and other reptiles. In some areas its main diet is fish.1

Forest cobraの写真 — Forest cobra。写真：schizoform。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

見分け方

Forest and forest-edge forms are glossy black, with cream or white chin, throat and belly, and broad black cross-bars and blotches.1
The sides of the head show black and white markings that look like vertical bars on the lips.1
West African savanna forms are banded black and yellow, with a black tail and yellow lips, chin and throat.1
East African coastal forms are brownish or blackish-brown above, with a yellow or cream belly speckled with brown or black.1
Adults are usually 140 to 220 cm long.1

毒パワー

かむ

かむときに、毒が牙や歯から出るよ。

その毒（かむ・刺す毒）はどうなるの？

Its venom is a postsynaptic neurotoxin, which attacks the nerves and causes severe neurotoxicity. Symptoms can include drooping eyelids, drowsiness, limb paralysis, hearing loss, inability to speak, dizziness, shock, low blood pressure, stomach pain, fever and breathing problems. A large amount of venom can be injected in one bite.1

人にとってどれくらい危険？

人への危険: とても危険治療を受けないと、人の命をうばうことがある。

It is one of the least frequent causes of snake bites among African cobras, largely because it lives in forests. Even so, it ranks as the 4th most venomous Naja (true cobra) species, and a bite is a life-threatening emergency. Deaths from respiratory failure have been reported. A child in Ghana died within 20 minutes of being bitten by a snake thought to be this species.1

いい知らせ：お医者さんには、これに効く薬（抗毒素）か治療法があるよ。1

こわいとき、どうするの？

When threatened, it raises the front of its body off the ground, spreads a narrow hood and hisses loudly. If cornered or agitated, it can attack quickly.1

かまれたら

Most victims survive if antivenom is given promptly, as soon as signs of envenomation appear. Because a bite is a life-threatening emergency, the bitten person needs urgent medical care.1
その人をじっとさせて落ちつかせ、指輪やきついものをはずして、急いで病院へ：治療には抗毒素が使われるよ。

まず必ず救急番号（112、000、911）に電話しよう。これは一般的な応急手当の案内で、医療のアドバイスではないよ。応急手当の基本