Dangerous Creatures: Black Mamba

(Africa)

   A neighbour of the black mamba, the African egg-eating snake, spits out the eggshell after it dines.
   A venomous snake like the black mamba has few enemies. But the secretary bird is one of them.
   The black mamba is not the only tree-climbing snake. The emerald boa lives and hunts in the trees of South America.
   Mambas have fixed front fangs, like cobras, coral snakes and sea snakes.
   Video: A boomslang has keen eyes. After sighting its prey, this snake will give chase on the ground or in the trees until it catches its meal.
   Advice: If a black mamba challenges you, freeze and remain perfectly still until it’s long gone. But then, unless you’re hiking through the bush in Africa, you’re not likely to run into this snake.

Next: A black mamba moves very fast for a snake. But it doesn’t even come close to the speed of the fastest animal on land: the cheetah.