Cobra blood controversy
US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Patrick Katz
Though Cobra Gold made history through its run-time and participation, the training event is infamously known for its garish traditions in which Marines drank blood from beheaded cobras and ate small insects and reptiles.
Former Marine Corps Sgt. Isaac Ibarra, then a corporal, attended the Cobra Gold survival training in 2015. He detailed his experience in an essay, witnessing his fellow Marines eating spiders and scorpions “as if it was an everyday snack.”
Ibarra described a Royal Thai Marine handling a cobra while another US Marine used a machete to chop off the snake’s head.
“The anticipation was palpable. Quickly, the US Marines congregated and knelt as the Royal Thai Marine raised the headless snake,” he wrote. “I knew this was a tradition for all Cobra Gold exercises, so I put my camera aside, knelt down, and waited my turn.”
“The cobra’s blood spilled over me,” Ibarra continued. “It was thick but tasteless.”
While the practice yielded some insane photos, the methods were taught as a way for Marines to obtain sustenance from the land, using scorpions, bugs, and geckos as a food source and cobra blood for hydration.
