Excluding man the cobra has very few natural enemies. One animal which can successfully kill a cobra is the mongoose.

The mongoose is a primarily found living in Africa, they have long bodies with short legs and range in size from the 7 inch (18 cm) dwarf mongoose to the 2 foot (60cm) Egyptian mongoose. They normally have grey or brown fur and some species have striped coats.

Mongooses tend to live on the ground in burrows hunting alone, they are famous for their ability to fight snakes.

in the 1800s Mongooses were used in an attempt to control snakes and rats in human Hawaii and the West Indies. Although the mongoose did feed on the snakes and rats they began to feed heavily on the naive bird population which is now threatening the survival of several native species.

Research has found that the mongoose is capable of surviving small dosages of cobra venom, however it is not immune to the venom.