The word ‘cobra’ is the Portuguese word for ‘snake’. In English and some other languages the word has come to be used for any of the various venomous hooded snake species. They can be found from southern Africa to southern Asia, including some islands of Southeast Asia. Most of them, when threatened, can flatten out the neck into a hood. The typical threat display for the cobra is to raise the front of the body and flatten out the hood and hiss. Cobras do not usually attack humans unless provoked. Some cobra venom can pose a threat to human life depending on the concentration and potency of the neurotoxin in their venom. The cobra preys mostly on other snakes, birds, and small mammals. They do however, fall prey to other snakes, birds of prey, and small predatory mammals, such as the mongoose.