The black mamba snakes are very dangerous snakes. It is the species of highly venomous snake. It belongs to the family of Elapidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is firstly described by the Albert Günther in 1864. The black mamba is the second longest venomous snake after the king cobra. The matured black mambas are typically growing up-to 2 meters to 3 meters in length.
Black Mamba’s skin color varies from gray to dark brown.
It is thin, long and cylindrical. The head has a strong forehead and a medium sized eye. An adult snake is 2 meters to 3 meters long. They grow to a height of 4.3 meters to 4.5 meters in total.
The tail of black mamba snakes is long and thin. The vertebrae of black mamba snakes make up 17% to 25% of its body length. According to some reports, adult black mamba snakes can weigh up to 1.6 kg. Seven black mamba snakes were found with an average weight of 520 grams to 1.03 kg. Black Mamba’s body scales allow us to identify their species.
The black mamba’s mouth is covered with 7 to 8 supralabial scales. It has between 23 and 25 rows of dorsal scales at mid body. It has 248 to 281 ventral scales. 109 to 132 sub caudal scales divided into segmented anal scales. The black mamba eye has 3 or 4 pre-ocular scales and 2 to 5 post-ocular scales.
The black mamba snakes are widely found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Black mamba snake is mostly found in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana. , found in Zimbabwe, southern Namibia, Africa and Angola.
Black mamba snakes were first discovered in 1954 in the Dakar region of Senegal.
A second specimen was identified in 1956. This species prefers moderately dry climates such as light forests, scrub, rocky outcrops, and semi-arid savanna. It also lives in humid lowland forests. Black mamba snakes are one of the fastest moving snakes in the world. They can move up to 12 mph on smooth surfaces.
Black mamba snakes are both arboreal and terrestrial creatures. It moves by raising its head and neck above the ground. Black mambas are seen every day in South Africa.
According to one report, black mamba snakes sleep between 7 am and 10 am and again between 2 pm and 4 pm. Most black mamba snakes avoid humans. When threatened it quickly retreats into a bush or hole to hide.
When anyone comes near to these black mamba snakes it will give a warning by making sounds with mouth and by flicking its tongue. During the threat display if any sudden movements occur near black mamba it will get provoked and make very fast and rapid strikes.
The breeding season of black mambas is from September to February due to the drop in temperature from April to June.
The black mamba is an ovipositor. A female black mamba lays 6 to 17 eggs. Eggs are oval in shape. When it hatches, the little black mambas are 40 to 60 cm long. After birth, these snakes grow very fast up to 2m in one year.
Black Mamba’s life span is up to 11 years. The black mamba eats birds and small mammals such as rodents, hyrax bats and bush babies. The black mamba prefers to eat warm-blooded animals. It also eats other small snakes. A black mamba can digest its food in between 8 and 10 hours.
