The black mamba is a snake that belongs to the Elapidae family, which means that it falls into a category of highly venomous snakes, of which not all can be a part and of which the black mamba is undoubtedly the queen.
Few snakes are as daring, as agile and as unpredictable as the black mamba, with high danger added to these characteristics, its bite is lethal, and although it is not the most poisonous snake in the world (this species is found in Australia), ranks second on this list. Do you want to know more about this fascinating species? Then don't miss this AnimalWised article where we talk about the black mamba, the most poisonous snake in Africa
What is the black mamba like?
The black mamba is a snake native to Africa and is found distributed in the following areas:
- Northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ethiopia
- Zambia
- Somalia
- Eastern Uganda
- South Sudan
- Malawi
- Tanzania
- Southern Mozambique
- Zimbabwe
- Botswana
- Kenya
- Namibia
It is adapted to a wide range of terrains ranging from the most populated forests to semi-arid deserts, although it rarely lives in those terrains that exceed 1,000 meters of altitude.
Its skin can vary from green to gray, but it gets its name from the color that can be seen inside its oral cavity, which is completely black. It can reach 4.5 meters in length, weighs approximately 1.6 kilograms and enjoys a life expectancy of 11 years.
This is a diurnal and highly territorial snake , which when its lair is threatened is capable of reaching a surprising speed of 20 km/hour.
The black mamba hunt
Obviously a snake with these characteristics is a great predator, but it acts through the ambush method.
The black mamba waits for prey in its permanent lair, warning it primarily by sight, then raising much of its body off the ground, bites the prey, releases the poison and retreatsIt waits for the prey to become paralyzed by the poison and die, then it approaches and ingests it, completely digesting it within an average of 8 hours.
On the other hand, when the prey shows some kind of resistance, the black mamba attacks in a somewhat different way, its bites are more aggressive and repeated, thus causing the death of its prey more quickly.
The venom of the black mamba
The venom of the black mamba is called dendrotoxin, it is a neurotoxin that acts mainly by causing paralysis of the respiratory muscles through of the action it exerts on the Nervous System.
An adult human being only needs 10 to 15 milligrams of dendrotoxin to die, while with each bite, the black mamba releases 100 milligrams of venom, so there is no doubt that its bite is completely lethalHowever, knowing it through theory is fascinating, avoiding it is essential to stay alive.
