The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is a species in the genus Naja found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest Naja species in Africa. The Egyptian Cobra occurs in a wide variety of habitats like, steppes, dry to moist savannas, arid semi-desert regions with some water and vegetation. It ranges across most of North Africa north of the Sahara, across the savannas of West Africa to the south of the Sahara, south to the Congo basin and east to Kenya and Tanzania, and in southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Egyptian cobra is terrestrial and nocturnal species. It can however, be seen basking in the sun at times in the early morning. This species shows a preference for a permanent home base in abandoned animal burrows, termite mounds or rock outcrops. It is an active forager sometimes entering human habitations, especially when hunting domestic fowl. Like other cobra species, it generally attempts to escape when approached, but if threatened it assumes the typical upright posture with the hood expanded. The Egyptian cobra is an especially aggressive species.
The venom of the Egyptian cobra consists mainly of neurotoxins and cytotoxins. The venom affects the nervous system, stopping the nerve signals from being transmitted to the muscles and at later stages stopping those transmitted to the heart and lungs as well, causing death due to complete respiratory failure.
This cobra species prefers to eat toads, but it will prey on small mammals, birds, eggs, lizards and other snakes. The hatching of Egyptian Cobras was filmed by Heiko Kiera aka Ojatro in 2012
