Anyone ever seen a Mamba (in the wild, of course) while in Africa? I want to go on Safari, but walking through the long grass with cobras around...and puff adders...and mambas...

Let's hear your snake stories.

We saw this black mamba in Namibia in '03. The PH literally stepped over it. It wasn't aggressive, even after he missed it twice with his rifle.





I've been on three safaris and only seen 3 poisonous snakes. That's probably better odds than running into rattlers on our spring and summer pig hunts here in California.

Kyler

I trod on a Mozambique Spitting Cobra, in bare feet (well, bare everything actually) in the dark, next to my bed in the bushh in Zambia about 6 years ago - nice warm night, wife went outside for a leak, saw something move towards the hut and called out "Mike, get the torch (flashlight)". I got out of bed and walked around to her side and felt omething under my right foot, felt the ribs role around.

Being an Aussie I'm pretty snake aware and got out of the way quickly - by the time I stood on it I had the torch and saw a pretty surprised 5 foot long snake making its way into the thatch roof of the hut.

Got the camp manager and boys who came with a more powerful light. Snake starts to make its way from roof into one of our gear bags on a shelf below. One of the boys through his spear at it and it continued down to the floor and came towards them. The boys, who were locals, living 2 days walk from the main road but with some mission school education actually asked my wife "Memsab, do you mind if we stand on your bed?" As the snake came towards them from about 6 feet away.

They jumped on the bed (we were out the door at this point) and one of them speared the snake. That upset it, and just as the snake spat the camp manager hit it just behind its head with his panga and it missed his eyes and the venom hit him in the chest. Polite buggers, these Africans, he asked it we minded his using our shower to wash the poison off before doing so.

I've only spent about 8 weeks in Africa, but this was the only snake I've seen. At home, in Oz, snakes are protected and can only be shot if a threat to humans or livestock. I shoot three or four a year from my verandah and half of these are tiger or brown snakes which are seriously dangerous, not like rattlesnakes or cobras.

Seriously, in Oz we are taught as kids to never put your foot somewhere you can't see and it works - we only have a couple of hundred snake bites per year. If you watch where you're going, don't step over rocks or logs, rather step on top of them and then look down before your next step, then you'll be fine.

The thing in Africa which is really dangerous is the way they drive, esp in RSA where the roads are quite good.

mike

My son's one request on going buffalo hunting in Tanzania in '03 was that he didn't want to see any bad snakes. As it turned out one crawled between the legs of the lead tracker right in front of him and another reared up at the PH so close to my son he could see the color of the inside of it's mouth. Man are they fast. I am not sure I could outrun one if we both were at top speed.

I saw dozens of snakes in Africa during the 15 years I lived on the continent and still see them frequently on our construction sites when I go for site visits. Mostly I've seen various vipers (Puff Adders, Cobras) but I have only one confirmed Mamba sighting near the Mwadui camp of the Williamson Diamond mine in Northern Tanzania just last year.

I wonder if you can fire a 410 shot shell in a 470, like you can i a 45/70?

mike

I almost stepped on a black mamba in Botsana once, but it just slithered away so it was no big deal. Then when hunting in Namibia a couple of years later, both my wife and I saw quite a few mambas around some kopies. Again they were no problem.

We also saw a few snakes (unknown to us what kind they were) in west africa, including a big python crossing a road.

Then there were some water snakes in Uganda we saw while swimming, rafting and riverboading. But they weren't a problem either.

But we did have one nasty experiance. While in Ouagadougou, the capitol of Burkina Faso, my wife opened the rear passenger door to put a bag in one morning. She jumped 1 meter up and 2 meters backwards with a loud shout. She was positive that she had seen a snake inside the car, on top of the jerrycans!

I was a bit suspicious that it was just a shadow she had seen, but she was positive. We carefully looked through the car as much a possible, but found nothing. We were not happy about getting back inside the car, but eventually had no choice. The next day, we had lunch with a French friend living in Ouaga at his house. We told him and his wife about the snake and after A.C.'s decription, they where both confident that it was a Viper! They advised us to empty the car completely and we didn't need much convincing. We backed up the car flush with their gate and started to carefully empty the whole vehicle. I had left the rear sliding windows open the night before (in the hope that it would slither out of our Land Rover), so we where not sure if the snake was still there. We all had big sticks or batons, and heavy leather gloves on while doing this of course. It took several hours, but in the end, every bag, case and hiding space was checked for evil, deadly serpents. Nothing turned up. This was actually bad, because if we had found something, and killed it, then we at least could be sure. As it was, we just had to drive off wondering if it was in the dashboard, or somewhere else we hadn't been able to see, waiting to pop out and strike our legs while we where driving at high speed... The next few days where rather tense when I had to hit the brakes fast, or make other sudden movements. My wife was also not a happy camper. In the end, she decided it was best to pretend that it had been a shadow (sometimes it's easier to pretend to oneself that there is no danger to get you thru the day!). Strangely enough, when we had tried to duplicate the door opening etc., we were not able to create any shadow that looked like a snake... We'll never know the truth I guess. However, my wife is still to this day certain of what she saw, and she isn't the kind of lady to be fooled by shadows, nor easily scared.

Back to your question, I do feel that it is rare to see many snakes in the african bush, as they usually move off when they feel you approaching.

Suprisingly we bumped snakes 7 days out of 10 in the Eastern Cape last year. 5 puff adders and 2 brakails (spelling) cobras. I must say, after one hit the lead trackers boots and left two nice fang marks while we were tracking kudu, I began to get a little paranoid. Definitley watch where you put your feet!!

I have only seen 3 snakes in 64 days on Safari. Puff Adder in the Cape and a Yellow Cobra (Which I have the skin) and a Cape Cobra in Namabia. The Yellow Cobra was a road kill which we came upon minutes after it was run over. The PH said I could have it for a souviner as it wasn't shot and he could get an export permit.

quote:

Originally posted by AussieMike:
half of these are tiger or brown snakes which are seriously dangerous, not like rattlesnakes or cobras.
mike

Now I'm not dissing your tiger or brown snake, but some rattlers are pretty dangerous. Especially the mojave green. A bite from one of them and it could be all over...even with antivenin.

I had a Black Mamba chase me and a PH shooting at the Mamba with buckshot, several of the buck shot hit at my feet and one about grazed my cheek and hit a tree that threw splinters in my face...He and I had some words and I never hunted with him again...

but one fallacy came out of that trip, a Mamba cannot out run a scared booking agent, I left that sucker in the dust and apparantly outran most of the buckshot, not bad for an old man.

In many years of hunting Tanzania, I have only seen a couple of Mambas and one cobra..so I don't consider it a problem, about like the chances of getting stuck by lighting when it ain't raining....

Malindi in 96, a green tree snake droped on the wife while we were taking a sundowner. Both screamed and parted company at speed, don't know who broke the record that day
We also found a puff adder in the garden but one of the locals reduced it the party fair in seconds with a cane knife before anyone else got too close.

Best snake repelant l ever married.

Dave.
....

I grew up in the matopos (hills) in western Zimbabwe. Saw a few mambas exploring the thousands of caves there but never had trouble. Seen a few puff aders over the years but probably seen more pythons than any other single species.

I know of only one mamba bite amongst parks staff. A game scout at tsabalala sanctury on the outskits of Bulawayo was rining a horseback patrol when his horse steped on a Mamba's tail. He didn't get back to station before he died of shock (10 mins at horse walking speed).

The only other snake bites I have seen since the war were from peoply trying to catch one or otherwise playing with it. A lad in my university class got a good bite from his pet Mamba and was pretty sick. Our leading herpatologist also got bitten feeding his pet one.

As a kid I often used to wear thick spats as protection against snake bite but have never bothered once I realised you had to be either blind or silly to get bitten! Steve Alexander - one of the examiners on the proficiency exam in 2001 peered into a hole in a baobab to see if there was anything interesting in there to ask his candidates about when he saw movement and leapt back. The mamba bit his shirt which was soaked with venom.

In the Caprivi we saw a small spitting cobra when looking for a new bait site for leopard (the PH and I almost stepped on it), and a mamba and puff adder in camp by the bushman's tents and skinning shed. The guys killed the adder, and I have a real good picture of my son holding the dead snake. It was still pretty early in the season (May).

Here'e a low-res pict off of the digital camcorder of a python we came across while tracking elephant in Chewore last April:

Hello,
It always seems a bit strange when asked about snakes regarding exotic/remote destinations. NO, have not seen one in years, just ignore them, and so on, yet, in the same thought, watch where you step and you will be just fine!!
Come on now, there are snakes of the worst kind all over Africa and it merely depends on the location and time of year/season. The damn things are everywhere and if the third world countries over there kept any accurate records, we would all be amazed at the deaths brought about by snake bites and the very poor medical facilities available to treat the victim. (some are not treatable!!) For those having visited Africa and spent any time in the local villages, the conditions are nasty to say the least and the vermin abound and that is like a food basket for the local snake population
Think it is wonderful for those going to hunt in Africa and for many it is a life long dream, but I personally think the
entire continent has "run aground...." and hunt in the place while you can for the future does not look good politically nor health wise regardless of where you go. Not all, but most of the previous colonies of Europeans have turned out to be failed states and ruled even today as tribal nations with warfare between ancient tribal traditions, customs,etc. and that does not bode well for bright futures.
If you are going to travel to Africa for hunting or business, check out the world facts web site offered by the CIA. It is updated often and available to all for free. Oh yes, when you get there, watch where you step for you may meet one of those mysterious creepy crawlies!!
Favor Center!!
dsiteman

Well, let's see. I've been on three safaris in three different countries in three different ecozones and haven't come across snake one. Must be my repulsive personality or the fact that I've only been there in the depths of "winter" or whatever they call what they have down there. Even California has bitterer cold than theirs.

quote:

Originally posted by AussieMike:
I trod on a Mozambique Spitting Cobra, in bare feet (well, bare everything actually) in the dark, next to my bed in the bushh in Zambia about 6 years ago - nice warm night, wife went outside for a leak, saw something move towards the hut and called out "Mike, get the torch (flashlight)". I got out of bed and walked around to her side and felt omething under my right foot, felt the ribs role around.

Being an Aussie I'm pretty snake aware and got out of the way quickly - by the time I stood on it I had the torch and saw a pretty surprised 5 foot long snake making its way into the thatch roof of the hut.

As most of you know, because many of you fine folks made it happen, I am going on my first safari this year. This said, I would appreciate NO FURTHER SNAKE-RELATED POSTS UNTIL AFTER AUGUST, 2005!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Thank you."

Russ

quote:

Originally posted by notmenotnow:

quote:

Originally posted by AussieMike:
half of these are tiger or brown snakes which are seriously dangerous, not like rattlesnakes or cobras.
mike

Now I'm not dissing your tiger or brown snake, but some rattlers are pretty dangerous. Especially the mojave green. A bite from one of them and it could be all over...even with antivenin.

Mate you have to be joking. All of the six most venomous and deadly snakes in the world are here in Australian. A rattler is very pale by comparison and doesn't even rate. Furthermore a rattler has the venom holes at the top of the fangs meaning the venom is injected only shallowly, not a deep injection.

The six include: Death Adder; Brown snake; Taipan; Tiger Snake; King Brown; and ????? (I forget the sixth).

I would have at least a couple "browns" living in my garden only 10 metres away right now. Luckily they generally are afraid of man, but can get aggressive when breeding.

Honestly when hunting in Africa I rarely think of snakes and take only the ingrained percautions such as being aware when lifting things on the ground, preferably facing away from your legs, being careful with logs etc. In Summer here it can be foolish to stalk through high grass quietly. If not hunting I tap a stick on the ground in front of me to make advance vibrations. In Africa I don't even think of this.

We actually have one of the leading anti-venene labs and factories in the world right here where I live. Many hundreds of species of snakes kept to produce anti-venene.

quote:

Mate you have to be joking. All of the six most venomous and deadly snakes in the world are here in Australian. A rattler is very pale by comparison and doesn't even rate. Furthermore a rattler has the venom holes at the top of the fangs meaning the venom is injected only shallowly, not a deep injection.

True on all counts except for the venon holes, they're at the tip and a rattler's fangs are looonnnggg. Though their venon is comparatively mild, they have so efficient an injection method and their venom sacks are so large that the bite is nothing to joke about. Yeah, more folks die from lightning strikes than rattler bites but here is SoCal we don't take the buggers lightly. And as the man said, the Mojave Green is several steps above the norm though admittedly not on par with the Aussie version. But then, I remember the stories about Viet Nam where it was alleged that the country had 100 varieties of snake and 97 of them were venomous. The other three swallowed you whole!

quote:

Yeah, more folks die from lightning strikes than rattler bites but here is SoCal we don't take the buggers lightly. And as the man said, the Mojave Green is several steps above the norm though admittedly not on par with the Aussie version.

I was once playing golf outside san diego at some indian reservation...the name escapes me...and a woman on the golf course got hit by a mojave green (or so the employees said). They drove the ambulance right out onto the 13th fairway. Really backed up play as you can imagine.

Re the Mojave green's venom, from what I *hear*, any envenomation from it can be very, very tricky to deal with from a medical perspective because the m.g.'s venom is not fully understood and acts differently than a regular rattlers' venin (pacific rattlesnake, at least here in N. Ca.)

I've seen crocodile man catch some of those snakes in oz. Yeah, they're deadly I'll give you that. But t'aint nothing more *intimidating* than a rattler all coiled up, buzzin away...cept a pissed off woman I guess.

notmenotnow

There are better places to research things than silly TV shows.

And Steve Urwin is a cretin.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldsarge:

True on all counts except for the venon holes, ...............

OK don't know anything about rattlers except they are what Aussie babies play with .

quote:

But t'aint nothing more *intimidating* than a rattler all coiled up, buzzin away...cept a pissed off woman I guess.

Unless it's you're German Short Hair Pointer proudly bringing you the (live) tiger snake he's caught and then chasing you round the paddock with it. Turns you off owning a retriever!

mike

Russ, had forgot you were going in August, good luck, have never been to africa, but do hunt alot in the swamps here, and have taken three hits from cottonmouths, luckly for me the snake boots worked.

Every time I see the Croc-Hunter I root for the animals

Hey, Dave.

Yup, leaving around the end of July.

I don't watch commercial television, but I'm aware of this Croc Hunter guy. I think I'd root for the critters, too.

Godspeed, Dave.

Russ

I saw two boomslangs in the process of building a leopard blind in Mozambique in 2001. Then in 2003 we had a run-in with an eight-foot mamba in the Selous. That has been the only time I've ever seen a PH with a genuine look of concern/fear on his face. And even though that was the first and only mamba I have ever seen, I fully grasped the seriousness of this snake and the situation we narrowly avoided. Those things are so fast, it is truly scary!

Bull1

In 8 safaris I've seen three mambas, three puff adders and a cobra. They usually created a bit of excitement but none were aggressive though they scared the pi$$ out of me on occasion. I saw more snakes (two mambas and a puff adder)in Tanzania than any other country I've been to but that was because I was hunting in November and it was warm, no, make that hot during the day! Your chances of having a dangerous encounter are extremely low, however, when hunting in Zambia, my buddy's game scout got bitten by a puff adder in his hut one night and died before the following morning. Lost a days hunt when Dries had to drive the body back to Lusaka and explain the situation to the powers that be. Thats what makes hunting in Africa an adventure!

We came across one in Namibia while walking after a kudu. It was cool that morning, and it was sunning itself. It didn't seem too concerned. The tracker was gesticulating wildly and trying to warn me in German about "mamba schlange". I didn't see the snake at first and began moving in the direction he was pointing. Then my high school German finally re-surfaced, and I looked toward the ground ahead. Ten meters or so away was close enough for me, and we walked on.