Cobras (some certain and some probable) I've seen in Taipei
Photos of these snakes:
Photos of all these snakes are at this dropbox link. The cropped photos are selected from the best ones. You do not need to have a dropbox account to download or view them. (You might have to click at the very bottom of the menu to download without an account.)
New Taipei City: March 15, 2023, unknown time
Type of snake: I believe this was a cobra, particularly from the sound of the hiss it made when striking. It was just out of range of my leg.Location: Somewhere within about 100 meters of this google map location (from memory)Aftermath: Maybe a month afterwards the city cut back all the brush where that snake had been, and they put a fence between the bike path and the river. I assume that is because of the cobra problem there. (I did not report it to the city, but I suspect someone else did.)
New Taipei City April 25, 2023 12:57pm
Type of snake: People on the iNaturalist website unanimously identified it as a Cobra.Location: The snake was half a meter from the bike path, in the direction of the river. The GPS location isn't very accurate, but it was nearest light pole #814787Size: This looked like a pretty large cobra to me. For scale, I was standing when I took the photos.
Taipei City Jan 14, 2025 9:28am
Type of snake: Obviously a juvenile cobra (for scale, the grass was recently cut, and it was a small snake.)Location: Precisely at this google maps location (nearest light pole 3013709)Remark: I reported it at the iNaturalist website.
Taipei City: March 12, 2025 10:12am
Type of Snake: Obviously a cobra, with visible monocles. (See this cropped photo.)Location: The ledge between the bike path and the river, at this google maps location, right across from light pole 76.Remark: Originally I thought the snake was dead, but then it moved its head. I then thought it was seriously injured, but an hour later I found that it had apparently slithered away.
Remark: I reported it to the iNaturalist website.
Taipei City April 4, 2025
Snake #1: 11:28am
Type of snake: I think it was a cobra, but I only got a brief look. I only have a photo of the tip of the tail.
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/M7bCkhiXMuGbauWC6 Sidewalk as it passes under Zhongzheng bridge.Remark: This is possibly the same snake(s) I saw on April 7, 2025 in exactly the same location. I suspect that there is a den under the cement where it hid, perhaps with several snakes there.
Snake #2: 11:47am (From looking at the photos, this might be two snakes.)
Type of snake: I think it is a cobra, but I am not sure.
Location: My phone GPS is very inaccurate. This was right next to the snake skin I showed you, perhaps near this google maps link. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the light pole number.
Snakes #3 and #4, around 11:40am. (No photos)
Type of snake: One was definitely a cobra, with the banding pattern. The other looked like a cobra, but I didn't see enough of it to be sure.
Location: They were both on the ledge between the bike path and the river, not far from light pole 76, where I saw the cobra on March 12. They escaped by going over the ledge towards the river before I took any photos.
Taipei City April 7, 2025
Snake #1: 9:31am (possibly the same snake I've already seen before, or it's family member)
Type of snake: Unknown. As I walked up I saw just caught a glimpse of a snake moving out of view under the sidewalk.
Location: This is the same place I saw the April 4, 2025 snake #1, in the gap next to the sidewalk heading under the zhongzheng bridge.
Snake #2: 10:19am
Type of snake: Definitely Cobra: Monocle is clearly visible
Location: Ledge between bike path and river, across from light pole 75 at this google maps location.
Snake #3: 10:41am. I am not sure if this is a new snake, or one I've seen twice already.
Type of snake: Taipei snake catchers identify it as a cobra.
Location: This is the same place I saw the April 4, 2025 snake #1, in the gap next to the sidewalk heading under the zhongzheng bridge.https://maps.app.goo.gl/M7bCkhiXMuGbauWC6
Remark: I only have photos of its head, which was near a can.
Remark: It slipped away under the cement. I (perhaps naively) fear there might be a snakes' den under there, maybe with many snakes.
Remark: I would like to see all the vegetation on that sidewalk removed, and I'd like to see the gap on the side away from the river filled with cement to keep snakes from making a home there.
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