Monocled Cobra Photo – Naja kaouthia

One friend I have said, out of all the snakes in Thailand (about 200) – he likes the monocled cobras the best.

I asked – why?

They are always angry and ready to bite! They never chill out. They never relax. They are always ready to serve up a plate of death for you – if you’re dumb enough to get too close.

He has yet to be bitten by the monocled cobra, but he works with snakes every day and he’s right – these snakes were born to kill. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 12-inch juvenile Naja kaouthia – like this one in the photo is – they are ready to kill you if you make one mistake.

Here is a link to more information about the Naja kaouthia – monocled cobra ->

I’ve kept the smaller monocled cobras for a short time – two weeks at most. I find that I have to watch them very, very closely. Every second I’m working with them – my eyes are on them and aware of what they are doing and what they could do. I don’t take any chances with these snakes. I have seen first-hand the damage their venom does. It is not pretty stuff.

He asked me too – what is your favorite snake?

I do like the King Cobra – and that’s what I answered since I couldn’t think fast enough. Even now – if you ask me – I’m not sure. The Malayan kraits are very interesting snakes… as are the monocled cobras, and the king cobras. I definitely like Ridley’s Racer as well – the one that lives in caves and catches bats in mid-air. That’s a cool snake. Some of the big rat snakes are very cool – a lot of energy and wicked fast.

The keeled rat snake (P. carinatus) is one snake I can’t get enough of. They can grow to 3+ meters and they raise up like a cobra to get above the grass and see what’s going on. They’re great strikers and they have endless energy. This might be my favorite non-venomous snake. Yeah, yeah. It is.

All in all – you know, it might just be the king cobra!

What is your favorite snake? Have you caught one before? Seen one before?