Stumbling upon an African Coral Snake at night

When out for a walk with a UV light, in search of scorpions, this group of people found something a bit different than what they were looking for. In spite of being a venomous species, this snake (like most snakes) didn't want any trouble and was not aggressive towards its observers, instead, it looked for a place to hide, which shows that snakes do not attack without a reason.Show more

The Cape Coral Cobra (Aspidelaps lubricus) is a venomous elapid from Southern Africa. It can be found in south Africa, Nambia and Angola. This colorful nocturnal snake inhabits desert, fynbos, Karoo scrub, outcrops and stony, dry, sandy regions in arid savanna, taking shelter under rocks. It can often be seen crossing the road at night.

Although it is called "coral cobra", snakes in the Aspidelaps genus are not true cobras. They receive the name due to their cobra-like behavior when confronted, lifting their head off the ground, and flattening the neck region, but the hood is not nearly as well-developed as in the snakes in the Naja genus.