Naja nivea
Silhouette: V. Deepak · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Cape cobra (Naja nivea), also called the yellow cobra, is a moderate-sized, highly venomous species of cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across southern Africa, including arid savanna, fynbos, bushveld, desert, and semidesert regions.
The species is diurnal and is a feeding generalist, preying on a number of different species and carrion. Predators of this species include birds of prey, honey badgers, and various species of mongooses. The Cape cobra is also known as the geelslang (yellow snake) and bruinkapel (brown cobra) in South Africa. Afrikaans-speaking South Africans also refer to the Cape cobra as koperkapel (copper cobra), mainly because of a rich yellow colour variation. This species has no known subspecies.
Naja nivea was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The generic name naja is a Latinisation of the Sanskrit word nāgá (नाग) meaning "cobra". The specific epithet nivea is derived from the Latin words either nix or nivis meaning "snow" or niveus meaning "snowy" or "snow-white". The connection with snow is obscure, but might have been suggested by discolouration of the first preserved specimens received by taxonomists in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | Cabarceno Natural Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | National Zoological Garden of South Africa | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Indianapolis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Giraffe House | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Reptile Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Indian River Reptile Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 12 | Hartbeespoort Dam Snake and Animal Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Python Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | National Marine Aquarium of Namibia | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 15 | Exotic Animal World | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
No species of the same family or order lives in West Coast National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Cobra sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Cobra in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, May–July, September and November, the lowest months. That is one of West Coast National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 70 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Cobra sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Cape Cobra sightings, West Coast National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Cobra is recorded against all the reptiles logged in West Coast National Park (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
