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African Bumslang is a representative of the family of the primordial, quite beautiful and at the same time very dangerous tree snake.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that this type of reptile is among the ten most dangerous snakes on earth. The body length of boomslang can reach 2 meters. The color of the reptile is almost monochromatic, however, there are individuals that have a vaguely pronounced pattern. The main color is green, but you can often see representatives of this species having an olive or brownish color. Note that the color of the back of this snake contrasts sharply with the color of the belly - yellowish.
Appearance
Bumslang is a reptile living on the African continent with a slim and rather long body (from 1.5 to 2 m in length). However, there are also individuals whose length reaches 4 meters.
The color of the body of this species of snakes is quite changeable, it can be both monophonic and with a slightly pronounced pattern in the form of stripes and dark-colored spots. I would like to draw attention to the fact that the skin color of Bumslang directly depends on the background of the surrounding area, which, in fact, helps this reptile to easily adapt to the environment and remain almost invisible during the hunt. The average weight of a snake ranges from 300 to 500 grams. The body of the reptile has a characteristic oblate shape - slightly compressed from the sides. The head is rather short, characteristic egg-shaped. Bumslang is distinguished by perfect vision, while hunting, looking for suitable prey, constantly turns his head.
The teeth of this dangerous and poisonous snake are small, but rather strong (7-8 teeth of the upper jaw). Bumslang also has fangs, 3 under each eye. There are no canines on the lower jaw, only teeth.
Distribution of species
Power Features
The main diet of bumslang is lizards, frogs, and also some species of birds and their eggs. Often, this reptile catches insects on the ground for its food, and also eats their larvae.
Most often it hunts, being directly on a tree, lying without a single movement on its branches and waiting for its prey for a rather long period of time. As soon as the bird sits down next to Bumslang, the latter makes a lightning jerk, throwing forward the front part of its body in order to capture the prey with its teeth. Bumslangs have an excellent response, so these reptiles are able to catch birds when they are in the air.
The poison of the snake acts very quickly, and almost immediately paralyzes the victim of boomslang. Birds often react to the presence of a reptile near the nest with quite loud and disturbing cries, while making circular flights around their natural enemy. However, such a protective reaction of birds, as a rule, does not cause any harm to the snake.
In search of food, the reptile can rise quite high on the tree table, and then freezes, waiting for its prey.In this position, Bumslang can be for a long time, which is why many birds take the reptile as a fat bitch, on which they sit down, immediately becoming a victim of this insidious snake.
Virulence
Reptile venom is quite toxic, when released into the human body, it usually causes a rather strong pain effect, negatively affects the cellular tissue, destroying it. Often, after being bitten by this snake, a person will experience quite strong internal bleeding. In order to rescue the victim of the bite of this African poisonous snake will require a blood transfusion procedure in a hospital.
Poison enters the victim's body during snake bite through the maxillary teeth through a special groove. For example, such waterfowl as ducks after a bum slang bite become completely immobilized after one minute, the bird dies in a quarter of an hour. I would like to note that, due to its toxicity, the poison of bumslang is several orders of magnitude stronger than the poison of such a rather dangerous snake as an Indian cobra.
Important! When meeting with Bumslang, direct contact should be avoided and no sudden movements should be made. Often a snake bite is provoked by man. If the reptile is not touched and does not provoke more active actions, the latter simply crawls into the vegetation thickets.
This reptile behavior is determined by the structure of its organs. Maxillary teeth with grooves, by means of which the poison and enters the victim's body, have a somewhat curved inside shape, which helps the snake to quickly cope with small prey,in larger objects the reptile sticks its small teeth with difficulty.
Breeding
The female of bumslang for one laying, as a rule, lays several dozen eggs (up to 30 pcs.). The reptile eggs are laid in abandoned bird nests, empty hollows or in dense shrub thickets. The incubation period is quite long and is about 3 months. The length of the born boomslang reaches 300-400mm. Young male reptiles are grayish in color with characteristic blue specks; young females are distinguished by a more dull color of the skin — pale brown. More bright, adult color young individuals reach after several years. The development of poison, as a rule, begins when young bumslangs grow to a length of 45-50 cm.
Interesting Facts
Not only ordinary people, but also specialists suffer from the poison of boomslang. A few decades ago, the world community was shocked by the news about the death of a famous scientist studying reptiles - Karl Schmidt, who, studying this type of snake, was bitten by a snake during its capture.
Although the scientist was well aware of the dangers of poison and the effects of a bite, nevertheless, feeling sick, he wrote in his diary, accurately describing the effects on the human body of the toxic poison of bumslang. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the scientist due to the speed of the poison, however, the victim's specialist helped to learn more about this reptile and the impact of its poison on humans.
Video: African Bumslang
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