A North Carolina reptile enthusiast calls 911 as he drives himself to the hospital after being bit by his pet king cobra snake. A North Carolina reptile enthusiast calls 911 as he drives himself to the hospital after being bit by his pet king cobra snake. CNN affiliate WTVD .Cobra is the Portuguese word for "snake". In English and in some other languages, it has been adopted as the name for any of various species of venomous snakes. Most of those species are in the family Elapidae, all of which are venomous. Most of them can spread their neck ribs to form a flattened, widened hood.