Mother, please don't read this.

I don't like talking about this particular subject publicly not because I am uninterested in it, but because I'd rather avoid unnecessarily alarming certain people in my life who love me and whom I love.

However, today was so interesting I think I need to share, with all due respect to the subject matter.

The family I stay with told me that while I was away, they had seen a snake. They said it was small, no thicker than my big toe, and green. "Ah," I said. "Have you seen it since?"

"Oh! No!" was the reply.

Today, while we drank our koko (porridge made from fermented corn, cooked with ginger and lots of other spices) with groundnuts, my homestay mother became very alarmed and pointed to a nearby tree growing behind a corrugated metal fence.

A snake!

Tree behind fence.

"Don't go near it!" she said, as I rushed to grab my camera. The photo above was taken from as close as I was allowed to go (actually, a few steps further - I was quickly called to come back). So here is a zoomed in crop. I'm very sorry to say that the focus fell slightly behind the snake. I am really still a beginner with photography and my strengths at the moment are macro shots of things that don't move rather than far away things which are the same color as their background and quickly trying to escape. But here it is anyway!

Snake in tree, probably western green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis)

I believe it was most likely a green mamba, and probably the western green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis), which is more common to this area. However, I am not an expert in snakes and am basing this mostly on its color, movements, location, and the fact it was quite happy in trees, after having dug through the lovely field guide, "West African Snakes" by G. S. Cansdale, published in 1961 by Longmans, and ruling out other species of snake with similar head shape and color forms.

This description of the green mamba's behavior comes from pages 45-46:

"Above all, the Green Mamba has an alive, active look about it, balancing itself perfectly among the branches and with the front part of the body held free on the alert."

The book, by the way, is excellent! The author worked for 14 years in the Forestry Department in Ghana and dedicated the book as follows (from page vi):

"To my wife, who even lets me keep snakes in the drawing-room."

Now, snakes stir up a lot of emotions in people. I have a deep respect for them and would not knowingly go within an unsafe distance of them or try to catch them, but I am not afraid of them.

For the most part, snakes are considerably more frightened of humans (for good reason, as shown below) than we give them credit for; and as evidenced by my experience today, they try to get away as quickly as possible when given the chance. They are sensitive to vibrations (though Cansdale says they are otherwise mostly deaf) and when hiking in areas with lots of rattlesnakes (e.g. the beloved Blue Mountains surrounding the Walla Walla Valley) I stomp my feet to warn snakes in advance of my presence. Generally the only snakes I see are, like the one today, fleeing.

The one we saw today started moving pretty fast once it realized people had noticed it, especially when Vivian started to throw stones and shout at it. It immediately fled into the citrus tree behind it and then disappeared. Byebye snake.

Cansdale writes the following, rewritten with feminine pronouns to compensate for his day and age (p.12):

"...I think it should be stressed here that to a person going about [her] everyday life in and around a town, snakes are much less a danger to life than the bicycle or car on which [she] rides to work."

My understanding of snake behavior is that, although some are venomous (not all are! And some that are slightly venomous, such as garter snakes, have almost no means by which they can inflict that venom on humans - I spent much of my youth catching and releasing garter snakes with my friends to no ill effect), they usually only bite humans when surprised or provoked. Overall, we're not their preferred prey.

On the other hand, apparently they are the preferred prey to certain raptors.

Cansdale again (p.14):

"Many birds include snakes in their diet and several of the day birds of prey take little else. Only two specimens of the Gold Coast Serpent Eagle have been collected recently: one had just eaten 2 small Black Cobras and 1 Green Mamba, while the other contained a Green Mamba, so it looks as if this bird prefers poisonous snakes."

And snakes aren't immune to the dangers of an even more threatening (though generally considered to be less scary) creature, the ant (p.15):

"Driver Ants are a menace to almost all forms of life and even large snakes are not always able to get away. On two occasions I happened on snakes of 2 to 3 ft. in length nearly covered with ants and quite unable to escape. In the rainy season these ants are likely to be the snake's most serious enemy."

Further predators include civets, honey badgers, wild pigs, and mongooses. Certain birds, such as the secretary bird, really enjoy trampling snakes to death before eating them. Herons, monitor lizards, and of course, other snakes, are also willing to snack on a snake when given the chance. (All from pages 14-15 of Cansdale).

But, of course, the real big scary thing in this world is us. Continuing on from page 15 (I've also swapped gendered terms here, just for consistency):

"[Woman] is also an enemy, killing any snake within range, but it is by setting fire to farms and, more especially, the dry grass-lands that [she] does most damage. These fires sweep across the country at great speed and drive everything living before them, exposing them to attack by birds and other enemies, as well as claiming many direct victims. Fire is probably the snake's most serious single enemy in the long dry season."

The one good thing humans manage to do for snakes is keep stores of grain and other things that snake-prey love to eat. Where there are mice, there will be predators of mice.

Both Cansdale and Wikipedia seem to agree on the point that green mambas are dangerous, yes, and also very venomous, but most likely to try to flee if possible.

Cansdale writes, speaking about reports that green mambas guard the general area of where they have laid eggs (p.46-47):

"The aggressive habits of snakes about which so much is said probably have to do with such defence of breeding grounds during the breeding season. I have heard of only one report of a Green Mamba showing aggression: this snake came through the crown of a tree and made some threatening movements, but did not press home its attack."

And Wikipedia adds, citing Spawls, S., Branch, B. (1995). The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Blandford. pp. 51–52 (which I think is an unfortunate title):

"It is a very quick, extremely agile, alert, and nervous snake. When confronted it will quickly attempt to escape (usually up a tree if possible) and avoid any sort of confrontation. If cornered, the western green mamba is highly dangerous and will show a fearsome display of aggression, loudly hissing and striking repeatedly."

So, that's a little bit about snakes, which are actually very beautiful and simultaneously fearsome/fearful creatures.

I'm sorry, Mom.