Forest cobra
Naja melanoleuca Hallowell, 1857
The forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) is a snake in the family Elapidae and genus Naja, within the order Squamata and class Reptilia. It is a medium-sized reptile by adult body mass, with a representative adult weight of 6.96 kg.
Quick facts about the forest cobra
Its eggs have an incubation period of 76 days, and the representative value for young per litter or eggs per clutch is 19.5. The forest cobra has a lifespan of 22.1 years, with values up to 29.1 years reported, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 6.96 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 3.2 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 22.1 years – 29.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 76 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 19.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the forest cobra
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the forest cobra live?
Not recorded
What is the forest cobra?
The forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca), also commonly called the black cobra and the black and white-lipped cobra, is a species of
highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Africa, mostly the central and western parts of the continent. It is the largest true cobra species with a record length of 3.2 metres (10 feet 6 inches).
Although it prefers lowland forest and moist savanna habitats, this cobra is highly adaptable and can be found in drier climates within its geographical range. It is a very capable swimmer and is often considered to be semi-aquatic. The forest cobra is a generalist in its feeding habits, having a highly varied diet: anything from large insects to small mammals and other reptiles. This species is alert, nervous and is considered to be a medically significant snake. When cornered or molested, it will assume the typical cobra warning posture by raising its fore body off the ground, spreading a narrow hood, and hissing loudly. Bites to humans are less common than from other African cobras due to various factors, though a bite from this species is a life-threatening emergency.
From the Wikipedia article “Forest cobra” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forest_cobra&oldid=1381221986), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the forest cobra endangered?
The forest cobra is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the forest cobra classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyElapidae
- genusNaja
- SpeciesNaja melanoleuca Hallowell, 1857
Synonyms Boulengerina melanoleuca, Naia haie var. melanoleuca, Naia melanoleuca, Naja annulata, Naja haje melanoleuca, Naja haje var. leucosticta, Naja haje var. melanoleuca, Naja leucostica, Naja melanoleuca aurata, Naja melanoleuca melanoleuca
Other names and names in other languages (19)
- Black and white cobraEnglish
- Central Africa forest cobraEnglish
- Central African forest cobraEnglish
- কালো কোবরাBangla
- kobra černáCzech
- Centralafrikank SkovkobraDanish
- WaldkobraGerman
- Schwarzweiße HutschlangeGerman
- Schwarzweiße KobraGerman
- WeißlippenkobraGerman
- MustahuulikobraFinnish
- Cobra des forêtsFrench
- erdei kobraHungarian
- Cobra della forestaItalian
- SvartleppekobraNorwegian Bokmål
- kobra czarnobiałaPolish
- Cobra-da-florestaPortuguese
- Чёрно-белая кобраRussian
- 森林眼鏡蛇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the forest cobra
Other species in the same genus Naja.
Indian cobra
Naja naja
Egyptian cobra
Naja haje
Black-necked spitting cobra
Naja nigricollis
Cape cobra
Naja nivea
Oxus cobra
Naja oxiana
African cobra
Naja pallida
CompareForest cobra vs Indian cobraForest cobra vs Egyptian cobraForest cobra vs Black-necked spitting cobraForest cobra vs Cape cobra
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the forest cobra?
The forest cobra is a snake, a reptile in the family Elapidae and the genus Naja.
How heavy is the forest cobra?
The forest cobra has a representative adult body mass of 6.96 kg, which places it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).
How long does the forest cobra live?
The forest cobra has a lifespan of 22.1 years, and the highest value reported by sources is 29.1 years.
Is the forest cobra endangered?
No. The forest cobra is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long do forest cobra eggs take to hatch?
Forest cobra eggs have an incubation period of 76 days.
How many young or eggs does the forest cobra have?
The representative value for young per litter or eggs per clutch in the forest cobra is 19.5.
Who named the forest cobra?
The forest cobra, Naja melanoleuca, was named by Hallowell, 1857.
What are other names for the forest cobra?
The forest cobra is also called the black and white cobra, Central Africa forest cobra and Central African forest cobra.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cobra
“Forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cobra.
@misc{forest_cobra_2026,
title = {Forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/forest-cobra},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}