THE BLACK MAMBA

                      

The very name spells death and terror among a vast population of Africa .Found mostly in the rocky hills of Eastern and Southern Africa, this beast has been blamed for countless human deaths . This fact coupled with its aggression, speed and enormous size have served to spawn several legends annd myths about the black mamba that have been passed down through generations in this part of Africa. Lets then take a closer look at this enigmatic beauty.

Description: At a staggering length of 14 ft or 4.5 m they can easily be termed as Africa's longest snakes. On an average however, most of them grow only upto 8ft or 2.5 m in length. They are also among the world's fastest snakes with a speed of upto 12.5 miles per hour. However, it is important to remember that a black mamba uses its incredible speed not to hunt for food or attack but to escape from an attacker. The skin colour varies from olive green to grey . The inside of its mouth happens to be blue black in colour which is also the reason for its name. An adult mamba can weigh anywhere from 1.6 to 3 kg,. There is not much difference in the physical appearance of the 2 sexes.

Life span:  This snake can live upto 14 years or more

Mode of Self Defence: A black mamba is usually very shy and escaping is their first mode of defence when attacked. However,when it gets cornered and feels threatened, the snake becomes highly aggressive. In such cases it lifts almost a third of its body off the ground, facing its opponent , spreads its cobra like hood ,opens its black mouth and starts hissing. It usually strikes several times at the victim injecting increasing amounts of lethal neuro and cardio toxins with each strike.




How deadly is a black mamba?
A single bite usually delivers about 100-120 mg of venom on an average with the maximum going up to 400 mg as well. Give that just around 15-20 mg of this venom can be deadly to a healthy adult, its not hard to imagine the potency of a single strike by this incredible snake! In one documented case in a national reserve in Kenya, a 7500 pound female elephant of about 45-48 years of age , was killed from a bite by the Black Mamba
Symptoms of poisoning: The initial symptom of the bite is local pain in the bite area, although not as severe as snakes with hemotoxins. The victim then experiences a tingling sensation in the extremities, drooping eyelids (eyelid ptosis), tunnel vision, sweating, excessive salivation, and lack of muscle control (specifically the mouth and tongue). If the victim does not receive medical attention, symptoms rapidly progress to nausea, shortness of breath, confusion and paralysis. Without immediate medical attention, mortality rate is 100% and a person will usually die within 20-30 minutes , In cases where the victim has received larger amounts of venom than average (over 200 mg +) or the venom was delivered right into a vein, death can result within as little as 10 minutes.
 This is why its bite is also known as the "kiss of death".
Antivenom:
Presently an antivenom produced by the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR) is used to treat all black mamba bites from different localities.Due to antivenom, a bite from a black mamba is no longer a certain death sentence. But in order for the antivenom therapy to be successful, vigorous antivenom therapy must be administered very rapidly post-envenomation. The doses of antivenom required are often massive (10–12 vials).