Gaboon Viper

Description:

Also known as Forest Puff Adder, this is a very large and heavy-set snake, well camouflaged to lay in wait and ambush among leaves... The specimen here were some 1,5m long and thick as a forearm, very muscular. Somewhat triangular large head, light beige in color, with small horns; and well defined neck. Light brown in color with beige-brown-blackish pattern, excellent to camouflage among dead leaves. There were also a second similar-looking snake in this collection (photos 5 and 6) except for the pattern in general and on head in particular - we were told it was some sort of hybrid between Gaboon and another adder.

Habitat:

Rainforests and thick vegetation, but can often be found on agricultural plantations and close to human settlements.

Notes:

This spotting closes my serial on African snakes seen in "Le Jardin des Serpents" in Kinshasa. They had some more reptiles in their institution, but I only kept notes on these seven venomous species (hope NOT to meet them in nature...) as highlights from our time in Kinshasa. While we lived there, at some point, my younger son became very interested in learning about African snakes (well, he still loves the subject but expanded it on all snakes...). My wife, on the contrary and of course, wasn't really too keen to trying to look for these beautiful animals in nature... So, as a sort of compromise, I found a great place with great team in Kinshasa to learn from them. The place, in Kinshasa, is called "Le Jardin de Serpents" is well worth visit if you are around; and for amateurs, on Facebook you'll find their page under the name "Les-Serpents-du-Congo". For us, it was really a great experience; we, my son and I, learned a lot in a dozen of visits from the owner, his wife and their staff.