The Black Mamba has a very wide geographical range. It can be found as far north as Eritrea, as far south as Africa and as far west as Namibia. This particular snake likes remote and quiet places to lay it’s eggs and keep it’s little burrow. It prefers wooden savannas, rocky hills and rivorine forests. The Black Mamba likes to mate during early spring.

The way that they mate is the male will locate a female by keeping a trace of its scent trail. When he finds his mate he will inspect their whole body by flicking its tongue around her. The males have hermipenes, in other words, a dual set of penises. A lot of Black Mambas will fight during mating season. When they fight the 2 mambas will intertwine their bodies and raise their heads as much as 1m off the ground, this is often mistaken for mating when people see it happening. When they’re finished mating they will return to their lairs and remain dormant for the rest of the mating season and not engage in any more other mating sequences. The females will lay their eggs in about 2 to 3 months, and will have as many as 6 to 7 eggs. The eggs will hatch in about 2 to 3 months. Once the eggs are hatched the babies will not get any care from their mothers.

The mambas are fully capable of killing a human being within minutes of their hatching. The actual life span of black mambas are not entirely proven. The longest life span of a black mamba in captivity was 11 years long. The predators of black mambas are like any other snake. The black mamba has a lot of economical importance. Most of it is negative because it is one of the most venomous snakes in the world. But one of the things that it has that’s positive is that it helps keep the pest control down and helps create antiserum for illnesses. The black mamba diet consists of many of the animals that other snakes eat such as squirrel, mice, rats, bush babies and vole. Sources: 21 Apr. 2006 Capstick, Peter H. Death in the Long Grass. Juvenile, Adele R. Mambas 21 Apr. 2006

Author: Ryan Q.

Date Published: April 2006

Sources: 21 Apr. 2006 Capstick, Peter H. Death in the Long Grass. Juvenile, Adele R. Mambas 21 Apr. 2006