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Project Noah Nature School
@LadyArachnophile: Yes, it was a captive specimen at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. It would be so cool if they lived in the wild here! Thanks for your comment.
It may be a juvenile back mamba based on the following entry in Wikipedia:
"Once prey is detected, the black mamba "freezes" before hurling itself forward and issuing several quick bites, swiftly killing its prey. If the prey attempts to escape, the black mamba will follow up its initial bite with a series of strikes. It will release larger prey after biting it, but smaller prey, such as birds or rats, are held until the prey's muscles stop moving.
