The Zebra Cobra is a shiny, black to brown snake with alternating cream to yellow bands down the body. The throat is usually black with lighter bars on the belly and the head has large cheeks, common in spitting cobras. They are only found in the dry western half of southern Africa from southern Namibia northward into Angola.

The Rinkhals is a grey to black snake or banded with yellow or orange. They have black bellies with 1-3 white crossbars on the throat region although sometimes these may be absent. Their scales are keeled, giving them a rough appearance. The snout is short and slightly upturned. They are found in the grasslands of the east of South Africa extending southwest into the mountainous and fynbos regions of the cape. There is a small relic population in the Zimbabwe Eastern Highlands.

It’s easy to confuse a Zebra Cobra with a Rinkhals. The rough or smooth scales and distribution are the best way to tell them apart. The graphics below illustrate the key differences between the two species.