Black Mamba

Black mambas are actually brown in color. They get their name from the blue-black of the inside of their mouths, which they display when threatened.


Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. They have been blamed for numerous human deaths, and African myths exaggerate their capabilities to legendary proportions. For these reasons, the black mamba is widely considered the world’s deadliest snake.

Black mambas live in the savannas and rocky hills of southern and eastern Africa. They are Africa’s longest venomous snake, reaching up to 14 feet (4.5 meters) in length, although 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) is more the average. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour (20 kilometers per hour).

They get their name not from their skin color, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black color of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened.

Black mambas are shy and will almost always seek to escape when confronted. However, when cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss. If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike.

Before the advent of black mamba antivenin, a bite from this fearsome serpent was 100 percent fatal, usually within about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, antivenin is still not widely available in the rural parts of the mamba’s range, and mamba-related deaths remain frequent.

The black mamba has no special conservation status. However, encroachment on its territory is not only putting pressure on the species but contributes to more potentially dangerous human contact with these snakes.

Fast Facts

Type:

Reptile

Diet:

Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:

11 years or more

Size:

Up to 14 ft (4.3 m)

Weight:

Up to 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg)

Did you know?

Black mambas use their incredible speed to escape threats, not to hunt prey.

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Burmese Python

The beautifully colored Burmese python is a solitary animal, seen with other snakes only during the spring mating season.

Burmese pythons, with their beautifully patterned skin, rapid growth rate, and generally docile disposition, may be best known as the large snake of choice among reptile owners. Unfortunately these potentially huge constrictors are often poorly cared for and are frequently released into the wild. Attacks on handlers, sometimes deadly, are not uncommon.

Native to the jungles and grassy marshes of Southeast Asia, Burmese pythons are among the largest snakes on Earth. They are capable of reaching 23 feet (7 meters) or more in length and weighing up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms) with a girth as big as a telephone pole. When young, they will spend much of their time in the trees. However, as they mature and their size and weight make tree climbing unwieldy, they transition to mainly ground-dwelling. They are also excellent swimmers, and can stay submerged for up to 30 minutes before surfacing for air.

Burmese pythons are carnivores, surviving primarily on small mammals and birds. They have poor eyesight, and stalk prey using chemical receptors in their tongues and heat-sensors along the jaws. They kill by constriction, grasping a victim with their sharp teeth, coiling their bodies around the animal, and squeezing until it suffocates. They have stretchy ligaments in their jaws that allow them to swallow all their food whole.

Burmese pythons are solitary animals and are generally only seen together during spring mating. Females lay clutches of up to 100 eggs, which they incubate for two to three months. To keep their eggs warm, they continually contract, or shiver, their muscles.

Habitat depletion, continued demand for Burmese pythons in the pet trade, and hunting for their skins and flesh have landed these graceful giants on the threatened species list.

Fast Facts

Type:

Reptile

Diet:

Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:

20 to 25 years

Size:

16 to 23 ft (5 to 7 m)

Weight:

Up to 200 lbs (90 kg)

Protection status:

Threatened

Did you know?

“Baby,” an ironically named Burmese python living at the Serpent Safari Park in Illinois, is 27 feet (8.23 meters) long and holds the record as the world’s heaviest living snake at 403 pounds (183 kilograms).

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

King Cobra

King cobras rarely attack humans, but one bite contains enough venom to bring down an elephant.

It seems unfairly menacing that a snake that can literally "stand up" and look a full-grown person in the eye would also be among the most venomous on the planet, but that describes the famous king cobra.

King cobras can reach 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. They will also flare out their iconic hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.

Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite—up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce (seven milliliters)—is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant. Fortunately, king cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible, but they are fiercely aggressive when cornered.

King cobras live mainly in the rain forests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia, and their coloring can vary greatly from region to region. They are comfortable in the trees, on land, and in water, feeding mainly on other snakes, venomous and nonvenomous. They will also eat lizards, eggs, and small mammals.

They are the only snakes in the world that build nests for their eggs, which they guard ferociously until the hatchlings emerge.

King cobras may be best known as the species of choice for the snake charmers of South Asia. Although cobras can hear, they are actually deaf to ambient noises, sensing ground vibrations instead. The charmer's flute entices the cobra by its shape and movement, not by the music it emits.

Fast Facts

Type:

Reptile

Diet:

Carnivore

Average life span in the wild:

20 years

Size:

13 ft (4 m)

Weight:

Up to 20 lbs (9 kg)

Group name:

Quiver

Did you know?

Synthetic cobra venom is used in pain relievers and arthritis medication.

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Swan (Anatidae Cygnus, dozens of subspecies)

How cute! 
Such poise. Such grace. The way they glide effortlessly across the water. That unmistakable curve to their necks that forms a perfect heart when they nuzzle with their mate, who they will stay with for the rest of their lives.

Read more: The 6 Cutest Animals That Can Still Destroy You | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_15853_the-6-cutest-animals-that-can-still-destroy-you.html#ixzz1d3RuncxM

Glorious.

This is the bird our mothers promised us we would grow up to be after yet another day of getting beat up for being so goddamned ugly. We're adults now (and still fuck-ugly) and the swan's beauty has endured, only growing stronger as we grow older. In another 40 years, there we'll be, on a bench in a park with a bag of breadcrumbs in our hands, just watching the swans drift by, reminding us that in the end, everything turned out OK.

Read more: The 6 Cutest Animals That Can Still Destroy You | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_15853_the-6-cutest-animals-that-can-still-destroy-you.html#ixzz1d3SPhivG