The gaboon vipers

The gaboon viper is one of the most deadly and gorgeous snakes

in all of Africa. It is generally found in central Africa, and favors the tropical rain forest floor. While the gaboon viper is generally docile, it has the equipment and the potential to kill a human with a single bite. The snake is heavy, weighing in at up to 18 pounds, and grows to a length of up to 7 feet. It has a very interesting pattern of splotches mixed with brown, black, tan, and white. This coloration

allows the gaboon viper to blend in with its surroundings well.

1 - The gaboon viper has a head that looks much like a leaf.

Camouflage is a very important weapon in the gaboon viper's

arsenal and the head of this snake is one of the best examples.While its body is multicolored, the head is generally tan and in the shape of a triangle. It is a

master of positioning itself perfectly still, and blending in with the ground and leaves around it. Prey sometimes will

crawl right on top of the gaboon viper before realizing it's

deadly mistake.

2 - Female gaboon vipers are viviparous. This means that the

gaboon viper bears its babies alive, and they tend to have

around 50 babies per pregnancy.

3 - The gaboon viper is armed with the longest fangs of any

snake in the world. The fangs of the gaboon viper have been

known to exceed two full inches. Keep in mind that this is

per fang. Ouch!

4 - The gaboon viper is a sit and wait predator. As mentioned

before, the gaboon viper is a master of camouflage and it us

es this better than most snakes. The gaboon viper will sit

along some known vermin trail and patiently wait for supper

to come to it. Once it happens by, the snake will strike

with ferocity.

5 - The gaboon viper does not let go after the bite. This is

a fairly unusual method among venomous snakes. Usually, only

the larger boas and pythons bite and hold on as they tend to

wrap the prey. The gaboon viper however holds on until the

prey is dead. This can be a problem when a human is bitten

as the chance of heavy doses of venom being delivered is

high.

The Gaboon viper is usually found in rainforests and nearby

woodlands, mainly at low altitudes, but sometimes as high as 1500 m. Spawls et al. (2004) mention a

maximum altitude of 2100 m. According to Broadley and Cook

(1975) , it is generally found in environments that are parallel

to those occupied by its close relative, B. arietans, which

is normally found in more open country.

Primarily nocturnal, Gaboon vipers have a reputation for being slow-moving and placid. They usually hunt by

ambush, often spending long periods motionless, waiting for suitable prey to happen by. On the other hand, they have

been known to hunt actively, mostly during the first six hours of the night. In Kumasi, Ghana, they were regularly killed around some stables in an open area with the forest some

500 meters away — a sign that they were hunting rats in the grassland. They are usually very tolerant snakes, even

when handled, and rarely bite or hiss. However, bites by bad-tempered individuals do occur.

Because of their large heavyset size, the adults have no trouble eating prey as large as fully-grown rabbits. When prey happens by them, they strike with fast precision and then usually hold onto their prey like a constrictor until the venom takes effect and the prey dies which can take a few minutes depending on the size of the prey. These snakes feed on a variety of birds and mammals, such as doves, many different species of rodents, including field mice and rats, as well as hares and rabbits. There are also reports of more unlikely prey items, such as tree monkeys, the brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus) and even the small royal antelope (Neotragus).