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28. Black Mamba
Sub-Saharan Africa has vast savannahs, hills, and forests is where this snake lives. The name isn’t derived from its color, which is brownish or grayish-green, but rather from the black interior of its mouth.
Snakes are not aggressive, but when threatened, they will raise their heads, open their mouths, and hiss before striking repeatedly in rapid succession. It travels at a speed of 12 miles per hour and can climb trees effortlessly.
Human encounters are common when black mambas take refuge in populated areas, and the snake’s venom is extremely dangerous.
Colors vary considerably among specimens, including olive, yellowish-brown, khaki, and gunmetal, but rarely black. Some individuals may have a purplish sheen to their scales.
Some individuals exhibit diagonal crossbands of dark mottling towards the posterior. Underbellies of black mambas are greyish-white.
