Naja atra
Silhouette: V. Deepak · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Chinese cobra (Naja atra), also called the Taiwan cobra, is a species of cobra in the family Elapidae, found mostly in southern China and a couple of neighboring nations and islands. It is one of the most prevalent venomous snakes in China, which has caused many snakebite incidents to humans.
Naja atra was first described by Danish physician, zoologist, and botanist Theodore Edward Cantor in 1842. The generic name naja is a Latinisation of the Sanskrit word nāgá (नाग) meaning "cobra". The specific epithet atra comes from the Latin term ater, which means "dark", "black", or "gloomy".
In Mandarin Chinese, the snake is known as Zhōnghuá yǎnjìngshé (simplified: 中华眼镜蛇, traditional: 中華眼鏡蛇, lit. "Chinese spectacled snake", i.e. Chinese cobra), Zhōushān yǎnjìngshé (舟山眼鏡蛇, lit. "Zhoushan spectacled snake", i.e. Zhoushan cobra) or, in Cantonese, faahnchaántàuh (飯鏟頭, lit. "rice paddle head"). In Taiwanese, the snake is known as pn̄g-sî-chhèng (飯匙倩/銃, lit. "rice paddle ?"), ba̍k-kiàⁿ-chôa (目鏡蛇, lit. "spectacled snake", i.e. cobra), or tn̂g-ām-chôa (長頷蛇, lit. "long-chinned snake").
This medium-sized snake is usually 1.2 to 1.5 metres (3.9 to 4.9 ft... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hangzhou Zoo | 🇨🇳 China |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Cobra sighting in Guangzhou on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 9th most-seen of the 28 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and July–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Cobra in Guangzhou on a given day, against under 5% in December to February, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chinese Cobra sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Chinese Cobra sightings, Guangzhou ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Hanoi (Vietnam, about 30%) and Taichung (Taiwan, about 20%).
Same family: Elapidae
The closest relatives of the Chinese Cobra that you can see in Guangzhou (family Elapidae, Elapid Snakes) are Many-banded Krait (about 10%) and Banded Krait (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chinese Cobra is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Guangzhou (55 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
