第 0019 號，共 1 402 號

Forest cobra

Naja melanoleuca

名字的由來： Melanoleuca comes from Ancient Greek and means "of black and white".1

可能致命不治療的話可能會害死你。如果牠咬了你，要趕快求救。

眼鏡蛇、曼巴蛇和環蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

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

分布在

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

非洲

首頁

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

長度

1,4 m 到 3,2 m (4,6 ft 到 10 ft)1

體重

2 kg 到 3,6 kg (4,4 lb 到 7,9 lb)1

最高速度

大約 8,7 km/h（5,4 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

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 的照片 — Forest cobra。照片：schizoform。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

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

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

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

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 非常危險如果沒有治療，牠可能會害死一個人。

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

好消息：醫生有藥（抗毒血清）或治療方法。1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

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

如果牠咬人

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
讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，取下戒指和緊身的東西，並趕快送醫院：抗毒血清就是治療方法。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識