Puff Adder
The Puff Adder is widespread over much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a heavy-bodied snake that relies on its excellent camouflage and is reluctant to move.
The Puff Adder is widespread over much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is a heavy-bodied snake that relies on its excellent camouflage and is reluctant to move.
The Rhino-horned Viper is widespread over much of the tropical forests of the equators. It is a heavy-bodied snake that relies on its excellent camouflage and is reluctant to move.
These short adders can be tricky to tell apart. Both the Forest Night Adder (red distribution) and the Common Night Adder (yellow distribution) are short snakes of around 45 cm, but may exceed 80 cm. They are diurnal, hunting frogs and toads.
A prominent V pattern is visible behind the head.
A large, robust adder that averages 1 meter, but may reach 1.7 m. This beautifully-coloured snake occurs in savanna, coastal and montane forest.
This is one of Africa’s largest cobras and may exceed 2.7 m in length. Adults are light to medium shiny brown becoming black near the tail. They may also be pitch black or black with light bands. There are now five species in this group throughout Africa.
After the Mozambique Spitting Cobra and Puff Adder, the Stiletto Snake accounts for the majority of serious snakebites in South Africa. It spends most of its life underground but often emerges on hot humid nights and may be stepped on.
The Egyptian Cobra is a large cobra, reaching 2.5m in length. It is widespread in central, eastern and northern Africa. The Moroccan population is treated as a subspecies.
Found in semi-desert and dry savanna. It is very common in its range and accounts for many snakebites and fatalities a year.
The Anchieta’s Cobra is very similar to the Snouted Cobra in both appearance and behaviour. It occurs from central Namibia into Angola, northern Botswana, Zambia and north-western Zimbabwe.
The African Rock Python is a large snake reaching a maximum length of around 6.5 m. It feeds largely on warm-blooded prey like small antelope, monkeys, game birds and dassies, but also takes leguaans and even crocodiles.