第 0019 号，共 1 402 张

Forest cobra

Naja melanoleuca

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

可致命不治疗可能会要你的命。如果它咬了你，赶快求助。

眼镜蛇、曼巴蛇和环蛇

咬伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 非常危险不治疗可能会害死人。

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

生活在

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

非洲

首页

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

长度

1.4 m到3.2 m (4.6 ft到10 ft)1

体重

2 kg到3.6 kg (4.4 lb到7.9 lb)1

最高速度

约 8.7 公里/小时（5.4 英里/小时）

在陆地上, 粗略估计

它吃什么？

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.

怎样认出它

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

毒液之力

咬伤

它咬的时候，毒液通过毒牙或牙齿出来。

它的毒液会造成什么？

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

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 非常危险不治疗可能会害死人。

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：医生有药（抗毒血清）或治疗方法。1

它害怕时会做什么？

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

如果它咬人

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
让人保持安静不动，摘下戒指和紧身物品，尽快送医院：抗毒血清是治疗方法。

一定先拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）。这里是一般急救指导，不是医疗建议。急救基础