Saturday, 8 December 2012

crowing crested cobra

I am reposting this from last year because of the interesting comments at the end.People don't always see the comments.I wonder if anyone took up Stephen's offer?

Caribbean Crowing Snake or the Crowing Crested Cobra is an unknown snake, considered a myth,  reported in the West Indies.  It is described as four feet(1.3metres) long, with a thick body. It is  a dull yellowish brown colour with dark spots with  red wattles and has  a  red  crest like a rooster. This snake  also apparently crows like a rooster and can spray it’s venom.
 In 1829, a medical doctor reported he saw a crested snake, dead and slightly decomposed, in Jamaica. Then a  snake with wattles was shot in Jamaica on March 30, 1850, by the son of Jasper Cargill.
In the 1940s the belief in this snake was still apparent  among the inhabitants of the Island  of Dominica. It was supposed to live in a cave, situated in the hills of the northern part of the island, where a gigantic stone heap, was said to be proof of  its activities
It does sound similar to the descriptions of the basilisk of legend, and the cockatrice. Both of those mythological creatures were supposedly snakes brought up by chickens, and were said to be  part rooster. It was claimed they killed anything that looked upon them, perhaps by spraying venom.
It could simply be that legends and stories are passed around the world by travellers and adopted by some people as their own. Or maybe there is an unknown hybrid creature , or at least there was once, in some parts of the world and the stories were passed down the generations. I am not sure about the crowing bit though, it would involve some serious changes in vocal physiology for a snake.


soneka_K said...
Its not a cobra.
It's a different snake altogether.
I'v seen it. It eats chickens.
Lives near villages.
When you see it and survive then praise God forever.
Jus kidding.
The help at my place, the people from my village, my mom ,etc told me that story and I believed it but not anymore coz none of them seem to have actually seen it.
If it really existed then it's no wonder it extinct coz who wouldnt want to kill it or merely capture? Such amazing characteristics.
If it does exist; come to Zambia,you'll definitely find it.
Stephen said...
This snake is not a cobra. Its in the family of mambas. It has characteristics of a mamba. It behaves like a black mamba. Only that it is more aggressive and more deadly than a black mamba and it has crest on its head and crows like a rooster. There are varieties of the same species. One is short, yellowish brown in colour with dark motlings similar to Jamaican reported type and other similar types reported in islands such as West Indies. This one has been reported in the Southern province of Zambia. I have an eye witness testimony to this. Though this type is not very well known even here in Zambia. The other one is a little common though quite rare. You have to really go into unexplored jungles to encounter it. This one is very aggressive and extremely deadly. You would be quite fortunate to come out alive after an encounter. It is extremely long. It inhabits unexplored thickets. Its got a very strange smell. It's a solitary snake and territorial. It will kill all existing snakes and other creatures. You will never see it near where people live or where there is a sign of human activity. Its extremely aggressive and violent, you can never capture it unless you kill it, only with a gun. After an encounter, you would never relish another encounter. Its a nightmare.
There is another type however, which crows like a rooster. Its also extremely deadly. Its long and greyish. This one can live near villages as the other guy said. I dont know whether it eats chickens as he said. could be. maybe it crows to attrack chickens.
But this one has been heard near the village where parents of my wife live. Even now they can hear it. If you are a snake expert involved in snake research, come to Zambia, I will take you to my wife's village so that you hear for yourself. It crows everyday, in the early morning toward dawn and also after sundown, just as a cock does.
please contact me at

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