Monday, May 6, 2013

Black mamba by Egil and Maria



We have done a text about the black mamba.

The black mamba is a venomous snake. It has a brown/ grey body with a white stomach, even though it is named the black mamba. The reason that the black mamba is named the black mambais that it has a black inside of its mouth. It is very long, the black mamba is the longest venomous snake in Africa with a lenght of 2,5 to 3,2 meters.


The black mamba is the fastest snake in the world. It is capable of moving in a speed of 20km/h. Something intresting is that it doesnt use its speed to attack humans, they use it to flee from humans.The black mamba does almost only bite humans when its threatened. Unfortunately the black mamba is a nervous snake who often feels that it has to defend it self. When it bites, it almost always kills. Only a few people in the world have survived a bite of a black mamba. In Africa it is called ”The shadow of death” and the bite is called ”The deadly kiss”. One bite is venomous enough to kill 20- 40 people. An antivenom is developed, but the black mamba is still considered as one of the most deadly snakes in the world. 

The black mamba lives in Africa. It is most common in the south of Africa. They live in very varieted landscapes. For example it lives on the savanna, in woodlands, rocky slopes and in forests. They have nests where they sleep every night. The nests can be in hollow trees, burrow or in rocks.

The black mamba hunts at day. It eats small birds and small animals like rats, mice, squirrels, lizzards and bats. But it also sometimes eats bigger animals. One time a black mamba was found with a parrot inside. They have also found a black mamba who had eaten a cobra. When the black mamba hunts bigger animals it first strikes, then they let the animal go. After that they follow their victim and after about 15 minutes the victim gets paralyzed. With smaller animals it strikes and then hold until the victim is paralyzed.

The black mamba breeds once a year. After 60 days the female lays 5-15 eggs. When the eggs hatch the snakes are around 50 cm long. They never need their mother, they leave her immedeatly and they are totally independent. they can catch small mice right after hatching. 

If you get bitten by a black mamba you get cramps, become breathless and at last you get paralyzed. If you get the antivenom you still get paralyzed. You get life support for up to 14 days, if you get recovered there will be no side effects. 

We´ve learnt that the black mamba is one of the most deadly snakes. It is also one of the fastest snakes and it is the longest venomous snake in Africa. We have also learnt that one bite of the black mamba is venomous enough to kill 20 to 40 people.


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