Black Mamba

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is one of the fastest, most venomous snakes in the world. Despite its name, this snake is not black in reality. Rather, it acquires its name from the ink-black interior of its mouth, which it flashes as a warning display when threatened.

Black mambas are remarkably agile and can move at speeds of up to 20 km/h, though only in short bursts. Although intimidating to look at, these snakes are typically shy and prefer flight over a fight. However, if disturbed, they repeatedly strike the aggressor with their pointed fangs, injecting neurotoxic venom into its body.

Native to sub-Saharan Africa, the black mamba is the longest venomous snake on the continent. With an average length of 6 to 9 feet, it is also the second-longest venomous snake in the world, surpassed only by the king cobra. Owing to its abundance in the native region, this snake belongs to the Least Concern (LC) category of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Description

Size: Length: 6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in (2 to 3 m)

Weight: Around 3.5 lb (1.6 kg)

Body and Coloration: This snake has a slender body characterized by a coffin-shaped head with a prominent brow ridge. Its tail accounts for 17 to 25% of the total body length.

It has a pair of erect, needle-like teeth or fangs in front of the upper jaw, right behind the upper lip. These fangs inject venom into the body of a predator or prey as muscles around the venom glands (located just behind and a little below the eyes) contract during a bite.

The snake’s body is covered with 23 to 25 rows of dorsal scales, 248 to 281 ventral scales, 109 to 132 subcaudal scales, and a divided anal scale. Above the mouth, it has 7 to 8 supralabial scales, while 10 to 14 sublabial scales are found beneath it. Surrounding the eyes, there are typically 3 to 4 preocular scales in front and 2 to 5 postocular scales behind.

Its body color varies individually from yellowish brown to gunmetal gray, depending on genetic and environmental factors. Young black mambas are lighter in color (typically light gray or olive green) than adults, but their scales darken with age.

The underside of this snake is grayish-white, while the inside of its mouth is bluish-grey to nearly black.

Distribution

Black mambas are native to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Burundi, Rwanda), Southern Africa (South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi), and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic), with only minimal presence in West Africa (Burkina Faso).

Habitat

Both terrestrial and arboreal, this snake typically inhabits moderately dry environments, like scrublands, light woodlands, rocky outcrops, semi-arid savannas, and forest edges. It often hides in abandoned burrows, termite mounds, rock crevices, or tree cracks.

Though not commonly found above altitudes of 3,300 ft (1,000 m), some individuals have been recorded as high as 5,900 ft (1,800 m) in Kenya.

Diet

As strict carnivores, black mambas typically feed on the eggs, nestlings, and fledglings of small birds, like doves, sparrows, and weavers, as well as small mammals, like rodents, hyraxes, bushbabies, and bats.

They may occasionally consume lizards or small snakes, such as bush snakes, though such instances are rare.

Behavior

• The black mamba is diurnal, meaning it is active throughout the day and rests at night. It tends to bask during cooler parts of the day, such as early morning or late afternoon. In South Africa, where this behavior is well-documented, black mambas have been found to bask between 7 and 10 AM and again from 2 to 4 PM.
• One of the fastest snakes in the world, the back mamba attains impressive speeds of up to 20 km/h (12 mph) over short distances on land. It moves by lateral undulation of its body muscles.
• Black mambas are generally shy and keep themselves away from confrontation. However, if cornered or disturbed, they react by raising their heads, sometimes lifting a third of their body off the ground. They then gape to expose the ink-black mouth, spread their narrow neck flaps, and sometimes hiss to ward off the attacker. If the threat persists, they repeatedly strike with their erect fangs, injecting venom into the attacker’s body.
• After biting a prey, the snake usually does not hold on to it. It releases the prey, waiting for the neurotoxins in the venom to paralyze it. Once the prey dies, the snake swallows it whole, typically digesting it in 8 to 10 hours.

Lifespan

They typically survive for around 11 years in the wild, while they live longer in captivity. According to the Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, the maximum longevity of this species has been recorded to be 26.2 years in captivity.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

This snake breeds once every year, from early spring through late summer (September to February). Before mating, the females release chemical cues or pheromones through their skin to attract the males. The males typically combat each other by raising their heads off the ground (sometimes up to 1 m), intertwining their bodies (plaiting combat), and wrestling with their necks to access the female. Once a male emerges victorious, the female signals her readiness to him by lifting her tail. As the pair initiates mating, the male flicks his tongue and slithers over the female’s back. He then coils himself around the rear end of the female’s body and aligns his tail ventro-laterally with the female’s. The pair copulates for over 2 hours, during which the male and the female typically remain still.

The female lays between 6 and 17 elongated oval eggs (oviparous) in a single clutch at a suitable location and then abandons them. These eggs are typically around 2.4 to 3.1 in (60 to 80 mm) long, have a diameter of 1.2 to 1.4 in (30 to 36 mm), and take around 2 to 3 months to hatch. The juveniles emerge by breaking the eggshell using a sharp, temporary tooth called the egg-tooth. These juveniles are typically 16 to 24 in (40 to 60 cm) long, have fully functional venomous glands, and are dangerous within a few minutes after birth. They become sexually mature between 2 and 5 years, during which they molt several times, though the exact number of molts depends on different factors, like growth rate and resource availability.

Predators

Despite being apex predators themselves, adult black mambas are preyed upon by some birds of prey, like brown snake eagles, tawny eagles, and martial eagles. Mammals, like mongooses and honey badgers, which are known for their resistance to snake venom, also kill black mambas.

Their juveniles are killed by Cape file snakes and monitor lizards. In the Serengeti National Park, they have also been reported to fall prey to marsh owls, hooded vultures, and ground hornbills.

Although humans do not consume these snakes, they often kill them out of fear.

Interesting Facts

1. This snake was first formally described by the German-born British zoologist Albert Günther in 1864.
2. On average, a black mamba releases around 100 to 120 mg of venom per bite, though the maximum recorded dose is 400 mg. This venom contains potent neurotoxins, which disrupt signal transmission through the nervous system, leading to paralysis and respiratory failure. In humans, the symptoms of the bite start to show as early as 10 minutes, leading to cardiovascular collapse within 45 minutes if antivenom is not administered at the earliest.