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South Africa’s ‘Biggest’ Black Mamba Roams Free? by Dalene
“This massive Black Mamba was spotted close to some graves near a sugarcane plantation in Richards Bay in South Africa. Its estimated to be about 6 and half meters long and 45 years old, born around 1960! This snake has enough venom to kill 400 men!” – Facebook User
*Gulp*
Thanks go to Mark E Willis for sharing this photo on Facebook.
*Post Update*
Seeing as this photo and information is sourced by content shared on Facebook, additional facts and verification that this Black Mamba exists would be much appreciated. Below are a few more pictures of Black Mambas big enough to make your skin crawl.
Photo by Snake Pics
Black Mamba in Etosha National Park
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Tags: fake or real, snakes
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hurrdurr says:
Awesome facts… Uhm… What are they based on?
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Reinhard Mulke says:
I live in South Africa and know for a fact that Dendroaspis polylepis does not get so big and neither do they get to be 45 jears old. That is almost 4 times the lifespan of a black mamba. If there were black mambas of that size here, I’d get out of SA ASAP and then I won’t recommend anyone else coming here.
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Dalene says:
Agreed. We’ve all seen what Photoshop can do for Kim Kardashian so what stops someone with wicked rendering skills from scaring the beard off of adults and small animals alike. The post has been amended to call for more information on this monster snake. But for now, lock your doors, check your bed before you get into it and don’t go hiking without wearing shoes and long socks or boots… oh wait, we already do all that.
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Just found this on the web, which leads me to believe the story is a fake, but the photo is real..
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Kim says:
Apparently, this picture has been circulating around the internet since at least 2006, albeit with a different background story (such as location). The snake is not real. According to this site (http://reptileventures.com/copper/albums/Namaqualand_2006/Massive20Black20Mamba.pdf) it is a larger than life model of a snake, placed on a sidewalk in Australia as a prank.
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Wow, thanks guys! @Wil & @Kim, great links – they are all we need to bust this myth! So this is what the resources reveal:
1. The snake in the photo isn’t real.
2. The snake is a fake model of a King Brown Snake.
3. The model is in Australia, not South Africa or Louisiana.
4. The nightmares may now stop. -
dfishwoman says:
Looks like this is a “snake in the grass” and doesn’t really exist.
http://reptileventures.com/copper/albums/Namaqualand_2006/Massive20Black20Mamba.pdf
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Gary says:
Hahahaha, funny stuff. I live in major Dendroaspis polylepis inhabited area and the 1st pic is fake, 2nd pic is not a Mamba, 3rd pic is a dead Mamba.
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@Gary: What kind of snake is the one in the second picture?… and how on earth do you know that this Mamba is dead? The only way I manage to tell the difference is that live snakes don’t usually have a large rock on their heads’.
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Hi Danele, 2nd photo is an Australian King Brown Snake.
If you look closely at the head of the mamba on the 3rd pic, you’ll see it leaning to the side (freshly killed by someone or something). Remember that a Mamba has a “Coffin” shaped head and the snake itself is never ever black. It’s always a dirty grey-green colour.Have a look at the head of the Brown Snake in the 2nd pic, it’s not coffin shaped. (more round)
p.s. pleeeeeeze don’t kill or condone the killing of our snakes peeps. They are such an important cog in the ecosystem.
xxxx -
Dalene, I’m sorry I spelled your name incorrectly
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Woah! Good eye! Very good eye!
I absolutely agree about not killing snakes! Even though I’m terrified of snakes and spiders, I refuse to kill them, just because of my selfish fear.
Thank you Gary the snake man! You learn something new everyday!
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Michael says:
There is no doubt that
black mamba snakes are one of the most venomous snakes in Africa and I think these snakes are some of the biggest venomous snakes in the world as everyone can see the length of these snakes in these pictures to get a fair idea about its size. -
Micah says:
I know that mambas do not get as long as that big snake in the 1st pic
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steve says:
hi the mambain the first pic is indeed not a mamba this pic first appeared many years ago as a king cobra also has been labelled king brown snake from austalia… i personly keep a pair of green mambas and have a pair of black mambas in the shop i work in and have removed many dendroaspis polylepis from homes in my area in durban south africa
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Chopstyle says:
Guys i’ve lived in Africa my whole life including South Africa , Swaziland and Botswana. Its possible for Black Mamba’s to grow up to around 4m in length. The record if im not mistaken is 4.4m recorded in Zimbabwe. So a mamba the size of the snake in that picture is quite possible. I have personally seen a Puff Adder 2m long in Botswana with witnesses to back up my story (According to snake experts they only grow to 1.4m) So who’s to say that a even bigger Black Mamba exists than the 4.4m record. Dunno what snake that is in the 1st photo looks like a king cobra (which grow to enormous lengths). As for the other photo’s a Black Mamba is called a Black Mamba because of the colour of the inside of its mouth not the colour of its body (which is more an olive grey).
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@Chopstyle: Love the interesting fact about where the Black Mamba got its name from!
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heinrich Drewes says:
I have a black mamba that has made his den on my property.He has been sighted 4 times and is estemated to be about 4,5 m in lenth.
He is as thick as a mans fore arm.
Is ther any body out ther that would like to catch him ?
I KNOW THAT THE PRETORIA ZOO HAS LOST THEIRS. -
bianca says:
Wow Heinrich, that is quite scary. Hopefully you find someone who is able to catch the Black Mamba for you, if not, you can give Pretoria Zoo a call: (012) 339 2700. Stay safe!
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John Francis says:
None of the pictures above are black mambas.
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PebbaDog says:
The photo of the big Mamba is actually a model of an Australian python on a grassy sidewalk in Australia. I saw it when I visited in 2006.
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