PYTHON BREEDING | ADDO SNAKE CONSERVATION | EASTERN CAPE | SOUTH AFRICA
THE ADDO RAPTOR AND REPTILE CENTRE - BLACK MUMBA
Main Road • Addo • South Africa • 6078 Tel: +27 (0) 82 332 3499
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Diet: Carnivore
Average Lifespan: 11 years or more (captivity)
Size: Up to 4.3 m (14 ft)
Weight: Up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) .
Description: They are Africa’s longest venomous snake, reaching up to 4.5 meters in length, although 2.5 meters is more the average. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, at up to 20 kilometres per hour. They get their name not from their skin colour, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black colour of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened.
Distribution: Black mambas live in the savannas and rocky hills of Southern and Eastern Africa.
Danger: Black mambas are shy and will almost always seek to escape when confronted. However, when cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss. If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike. Before the advent of black mamba antivenin, a bite was 100 percent fatal, usually within about 20 minutes.
Status: The black mamba has no special conservation status. However, encroachment on its territory is not only putting pressure on the species but contributes to more potentially dangerous human contact with these snakes.
Did you know? Black mambas use their incredible speed to escape threats, not to hunt prey
Average Lifespan: 11 years or more (captivity)
Size: Up to 4.3 m (14 ft)
Weight: Up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) .
Description: They are Africa’s longest venomous snake, reaching up to 4.5 meters in length, although 2.5 meters is more the average. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, at up to 20 kilometres per hour. They get their name not from their skin colour, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black colour of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened.
Distribution: Black mambas live in the savannas and rocky hills of Southern and Eastern Africa.
Danger: Black mambas are shy and will almost always seek to escape when confronted. However, when cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss. If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike. Before the advent of black mamba antivenin, a bite was 100 percent fatal, usually within about 20 minutes.
Status: The black mamba has no special conservation status. However, encroachment on its territory is not only putting pressure on the species but contributes to more potentially dangerous human contact with these snakes.
Did you know? Black mambas use their incredible speed to escape threats, not to hunt prey
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BLACK MAMBA / SWART MAMBA
Psammophis angolensis
Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. They have been blamed for numerous human deaths, and African myths exaggerate their capabilities to legendary proportions. For these reasons, the black mamba is widely considered the world’s deadliest snake.
Psammophis angolensis
Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. They have been blamed for numerous human deaths, and African myths exaggerate their capabilities to legendary proportions. For these reasons, the black mamba is widely considered the world’s deadliest snake.
