A few pics of young Black Mamba

[Nivea]

Hi, Thanks for advice. Took advice and snake outdoors on to nice branches. Hope the results are enjoyed.

[dendroaspis]

She is not too happy though :P

[BushSnake]

Great shots. I like both the dark and the light BG! You're good at getting a looping tongue

[froot]

Very nice!

[Serpy]

Nice shots, how big is she?

[Nivea]

Thanks for the comments.

@Serpy, she is around the 1m mark, maybe just over, She is roughly 8 months old. Super snake.

[mrVynes]

Wow nice pics.

How is the snake doing these days? How do you handle it? With one of those hooks?

I grew up in Northern KZN and as a child I had on many occasions encountered the Black Mamba in the bush... needless to say those meetings were brief...but unforgettable. The rule was to turn away slowely and walk in the opposite direction, although most of the time I would involuntarily start running - I guess it's a built-in thing. About 4 years ago I crossed a ravine and as I came out the other side I saw something I had never seen before - 2x Black Mambas. This was quite different from all my previous encounters and probably why I managed to fight the urge to make a tunnel in the opposite direction straight through the thicket. It was different not only because there were two but also the fact that they totally ignored me - normally they would do the same as me and try to get away as quick as possible. For a second I thought they were something else but as they came closer...unmistakeably mamba. About 2.5-3.0m. I stood frozen as they slithered past about 2 meters infront of me, crossing each other a few times and dissappeared into the bush. I never thought of the Mamba as a social snake so I could only guess that they were possibly about to mate. It was an honour and a privilege. Hopefully not the last.

Almost everyone from my town has a mamba story. It's just such an awesome snake, everything about them. My two favourite things are the independance of the hatchlings (the mother never returns to them or defends them) and the second thing is that smile. Sadly, most of them I saw as a laaitie were killed by my father or grandfather or some guy with a sjambok. It normally took some time for the contractions and twitches to settle down as it lay mutilated in the dust. Mesmerised I would watch it to the last twitch before inspecting the head and inside of the mouth. It was a "high" induced by a mixture of sheer awe...and loss. I still dream about them often.

You're right, it is a super snake. Hope she's doing well!

[Bushviper]

The mambas you saw were two males in combat. Often when they are so engrossed in combat you can approach them and they are oblivious to you.