Animal · South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia
Black mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis — the name this animal has in the language scientists everywhere share.
The black mamba is one of the longest and fastest venomous snakes in Africa, and its name comes from the inky black inside of its mouth. Its skin is really grey or olive-brown, and the snake slips away from people whenever it can.
Picture credit: Bernard DUPONT (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Bernard DUPONT (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where does the black mamba live?
Home: Savannas, rocky hills and open woodland in Africa.
In the wild it lives in these countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia.
Conservation status from the IUCN: not in danger.
The short profile
Fully grown: 2 to 3 m long, in rare cases up to 4.3 m. It weighs about 1 kilograms. On the menu: meat.
The story behind it
A black mamba can reach three metres and now and then even more, yet it is so slim that it weighs only about a kilogram. It hunts by day, gliding through grass and up into trees after rats, squirrels, hyraxes and small birds. Over a short stretch it can move at around sixteen kilometres per hour, faster than most people walk, though far slower than the stories claim. Its venom acts on the nerves and works quickly, so a bite is a real emergency, but the snake almost always tries to escape first. Only when it is cornered does it raise the front of its body, spread a narrow hood and open that dark mouth as a warning. Hospitals in Africa keep an antivenom that works well if it is given soon enough.
Find it on the globe
Black mamba is there as a tiny animated figure that breathes and looks around. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How fast is a black mamba?
About sixteen kilometres per hour over a short stretch, which makes it one of the quickest snakes in the world. That is faster than a walking person but slower than a child running hard, so nobody is outrun by a mamba on open ground.
Why is it called the black mamba?
Not because of its skin, which is grey, olive or brown. The name comes from the inside of its mouth, which is nearly black, and which the snake shows when it feels threatened.
Does the black mamba attack people?
Hardly ever on purpose. A black mamba is shy and its first move is to disappear into a hole or a thicket; it only bites when it is cornered or stepped on. A bite is very serious, but antivenom works well when treatment starts quickly.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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