Black Mamba

Scientific Name: Dendroaspis polylepis

Nick Name: The Shadow of death

Size: 14 feet (4.3 meters)

Lifespan: Up to 12 years in captivity

Appearance: The Black Mamba is not actually black. They have a brownish-gray body with a light belly and brownish scales along its back. It gets its name from the color of the lining of its mouth, which is purple-black, and which it displays when threatened.

Potency of Venom: Neurotoxin, 10 people in a strike, 100 people per year

Nature: Extremely aggressive, can strike a dozen times in a row !!!

Distribution: South Africa > Eastern Africa, from southern Ethiopia to southwest Africa.

Habitat: like open, low habitats such as savannas, rocky places and open woodlands. They often sleep in hollow trees, burrows, rock crevices, or empty termite mounds, and will come back to the same place every night.

Feeds on: Rats, Birds, squirrels, mice, or bush babies.

Side Line:

• The fastest snake on the planet (10-14 mph; 16-19 km/hr)
• Second Longest venomous snake in the world !
• Highly territorial and might chase you if you dare to get anywhere near 75 ft to the snake
• Once a Mamba was found with a parrot in its stomach, another with a full grown Forest Cobra!
• Female lays 6-17 eggs. The burrow must be damp but not wet, and warm, but not too hot. After she lays her eggs the female leaves. The young snakes are about 16-24 inches long when they hatch three months later.
• They reach maturity when they are 3-4 feet in length.