Hognose Snakes Impersonating Cobras

Hognose snakes are native to the USA and completely harmless. They have a broad head that often leads people to erroneously believe they are venomous. When threatened, the hognose snake inflates its head and spreads its neck, doing a very good impersonation of real cobra. If this fails, the hognose snake rolls onto its back and plays dead.

This 'cobra impersonating' bluff makes the snake look large and scary, but it can also cost it its life. When in the state of hysteria, associated with hoax cobras in news reports, scared people will kill it, thinking it is one of the phantom cobras.

The snake pictures below illustrate how a Hognose snake can be easily mistaken for a Cobra because of similar body posture or coloration. This is especially true if the person encountering the snake is scared, or if the ambient light is low.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Cobras
• venomous
• snake
• exotic
• animal
• hognose
• monocled
• cobra
• spitting
• spectacled
• pakistan
• egyptian
• wildlife
• reptiles
• pet

[GeetarAdam]

Yep. I just found one of these in my yard and it's little trick did, indeed, cost it its life! I was like "WTF?! We don't have cobras in Arkansas!". I couldn't take a chance on leaving it alive to bite my wife or my dog if it was poisonous. Now I feel kinda bad, but it is what it is.

[alyman01]

best way to tell them apart is let it bite you and see what happens

[di3541]

My son and I came across a snake in East Texas that mimicked a Cobra while we were on some trails on 900 + acres of woods, but it was a beautiful orangish color with brownish and black random spots and markings plus a black marking on both sides of its head. Wasn't aggressive at all and went on its way after mimicking a Cobra. Was very cool to see.

[PraetorianMan]

Very cool video, but I have just one thing to interject. Hognose snakes do not intentionally mimic cobras; there are no cobras in North America where Hognose snakes live. Hognose snakes actually do a better job mimicing rattlesnakes. They don't act like them but they have the same short, fat body and color.

[monsterpistol2000]

hey cool my aunt loves hog noses and i love COBRAS i love this video!

[ElyriaRedneck]

the best was to tell the diff it to look at the snout.. the hognose has an upturned one

[valhalla678]

@bjjc51192 Lets look at your logic here, if i was a bitch, would i touch a snake that can bite, we already know you have not passed 4th grade so i dont expect your logic to be great, so i forgive you...but you should still delete your history so your mother(notice i used your properly) doesnt know that you have been so rude to people you dont know. maybe she will actually hit you for once. good day

[valhalla678]

@bjjc51192 oh and it is "you're" as in you are not "your" as in a possessive pronoun...if you wish to insult me at least keep it at a fourth grade level you idiot.

[valhalla678]

@bjjc51192 ...okay buddy no need to get upset over your sexuality.

[bjjc51192]

@valhalla678 maybe it doesnt play dead because it knows your a bitch?