Mary Allen
The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) belongs to the genus “Mambas” and to the family of poison snakes. The black mamba is the longest venomous snake in Africa and the second longest in the world after the king cobra. The snake got its name from the dark-colored inside of its mouth.
The prey of the black mamba includes a variety of organisms that include smaller mammals such as mice, squirrels, rats, and birds. They have also been found to feed on other snakes such as the forest cobra.
Black mamba
The black mamba is one of the most feared and dangerous snakes in Africa. It is not uncommon to find them near settlements, which is why encounters with people are relatively frequent. Due to its length, the snake can easily climb and hide in trees. But it is not only the longest, but also one of the fastest snakes in Africa with a top speed of around 25 km/h.
With one bite, she can inject up to 400 mg of the neurotoxic venom. As little as 20 mg of this poison is fatal to a human. A bite attacks the heart muscles and tissues. It can lead to death within 15 minutes.
The bite of the black mamba is also known as the “kiss of death”.
Characteristics
| Name | Black mamba |
| Scientific | Dendroaspis polylepis |
| species | snakes |
| Order | scale reptiles |
| genus | Mambas |
| family | poison snakes |
| class | reptiles |
| colour | dark brown and dark gray |
| weight | up to 1.6 kg |
| Long | up to 4.5m |
| speed | up to 26 km/h |
| Life expectancy | up to 10 years |
| origin | Africa |
| habitat | South and East Africa |
| food | small rodents, birds |
| enemies | crocodiles, jackals |
| toxicity | very poisonus |
| Danger | The black mamba is responsible for approximately 300 human deaths per year. |
What preys on black mamba?
Adult mambas have few natural predators aside from birds of prey. Brown snake eagles are verified predators of adult black mambas, of up to at least 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in). Other eagles known to hunt or at least consume grown black mambas include tawny eagles and martial eagles.
Can you survive black mamba bite?
Twenty minutes after being bitten you may be lose the ability to talk. After one hour you’re probably comatose, and by six hours, without an antidote, you are dead. A person will experience “pain, paralysis and then death within six hours,” says Damaris Rotich, the curator for the snake park in Nairobi.
Do black mambas eat meat?
Black mambas are carnivores and mostly prey on small vertebrates such as birds, particularly nestlings and fledglings, and small mammals like rodents, bats, hyraxes, and bushbabies. They generally prefer warm-blooded prey but will also consume other snakes.
Where do black mambas live?
Black mambas live in the savannas and rocky hills of southern and eastern Africa. They are Africa’s longest venomous snake, reaching up to 14 feet in length, although 8.2 feet is more the average. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour.
What snake kills the fastest?
The king cobra (Species: Ophiophagus hannah) can kill you the fastest of any snake. The reason a king cobra can kill a person so fast is because of the large volume of potent neurotoxic venom which stops nerves in the body from working. There are many types of venom2 that act in different ways on the human body.
Which venom kills the fastest?
The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.