African Elephant Pictures

For information on African Elephants "CLICK HERE"

List of African Snakes

Adders

Berg Adder – Bitis atropos
Gaboon Adder – Bitis gabonica
Many-Horned Adder – Bitis cornuta
Puff Adder – Bitis arietans
Rhombic Night Adder – Causus rhombeatus

Blind Snakes

Beaked Blind Snake – Typhlops schinzi
Bibron’s Blind Snake – Typhlops bibronii
Boyle’s Blind Snake – Typhlops boylei
Delalande’s Blind Snake – Typhlops lalandei
Fornasini’s Blind Snake – Typhlops fornasinii
Schlegel’s Blind Snake – Typhlops schlegelii
Slender Blind Snake – Typhlops obtusus

Cobras

Black Spitting Cobra – Naja nigricollis woodi
Cape Cobra – Naja nivea
Forest Cobra – Naja melannoleuca
Mozambique Spitting Cobra – Naja mossambica
Snouted Cobra – Naja annulifera
Western Barred Spitting Cobra – Naja nigricollis nigricincta

File Snakes

Angola File Snake – Mehhelya vernayi
Black File Snake – Mehhelya nyassae
Cape File Snake – Mehelya capensis

Grass Snakes

Olive Grass Snake – Psammophis phillipsii
Short-snouted Grass Snake – Psammophis sibilans brevirostris

House Snakes

Aurora House Snake – Lamprohis aurora
Fisk’s House Snake – Lamprohis fiskii
Brown House Snake – Lamprohis fuliginosus
Olive House Snake – Lamprophis inornatus
Spotted House Snake – Lamprohis guttatus
Swazi Rock Snake – Lamprohis swazicus
Yellow-Bellied House Snake – Lamprohis fuscus

Mambas

Black Mamba – Dendroaspis polylepis
Green Mamba – Dendroaspis angusticeps

Pythons

African Rock Python – Python sebae
Anchieta’s Dwarf Python – Python anchietae

Skaapstekers

Spotted Skaapsteker – Psammophylax rhombeatus
Striped Skaapsteker – Psammophylax tritaeniatus

Slug Eaters

Common Slug Eater – Duberria lutrix
Spotted Slug Eater – Duberria variegata

Thread Snakes

Black Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops nigricans
Cape Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops conjunctus
Damara Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops labialis
Distant’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops distanti
Long-Tailed Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops longicaudus
Peter’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops scutifrons
Slender Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops gracilior
Tello’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops telloi
Western Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops occidentalis

Water Snakes

Common Brown Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus rufulus
Dusky-Bellied Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus laevissimus
Green Water Snake – Philothamnus hoplogaster
Mulanje Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus leleupi
Whyte’s Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus whytii

Wolf Snakes

Cape Wolf Snake – Lycophidion capense
Eastern Wolf Snake – Lycophidion semiannule
Dwarf Wolf Snake – Cryptolycus nanus
Hellmich’s Wolf Snake – Lycophidion hellmichi
Variegated Wolf Snake – Lycophidion variegatum

Other Snake Species

Boomslang – Dispholidus typus
Cape Centipede Eater – Aparallactus capensis
Cape Coral Snake – Aspidelaps lubricus
Eastern Tiger Snake – Telescopus semiannulatus
Flower-Pot Snake – Ramphotyphlops braminus
Mole Snake – Pseudaspis cana
Natal Black Snake – Macrelaps microlepidotus
Red-lipped Herald – Crotaphopeltis botamboeia
Rhombic Egg-eater – Dasypeltis scabra
Rinkhals – Hemachatus haemachatus
Rufous Beaked Snake – Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus rostratus
Shield-nose Snake – Aspidelaps scutatus
Spotted Bush Snake – Philothamnus semivariegatus
Spotted Harlequin Snake – Homoroselaps lacteus
Stiletto Snake – Atractaspis bibronii
Sundevall’s Garter Snake – Elapsoidea sundevallii
Sundevall’s Shovel-snout – Prosymna sundevallii
Twig Snake – Thelotornis capensis
Yellow-and-Black Sea Snake – Pelamis platurus

This list of African snake species will be updated in future.

Impala Facts

Latin Name: Aepyceros melampus

Lifespan: Up to 12 years.

Weight: Mature males 65 kg, females 40 kg.

Sexual differentiation:
The male is larger than the female and has horns.

Habitat:
Impalas are found in savannah, grassland and woodland biomes, often taking shelter under trees and in rocky areas.

Diet and Feeding:
Impala are predominantly grazers but will browse in the drier months if palatable grasses are less in abundance.

Reproduction and Territoriality:


Herding and breeding takes place in autumn. The dominant male herds as many females as possible into his territory with as many as 100 females or even more.

He defends his territory vigorously by chasing out any males he sees as a possible threat to his breeding herd, the threat being the possible loss of any sexually mature females to another male.

Bachelor herds follow the breeding herd within close proximity with eager males often breaking away to challenge the dominant male for ownership of the breeding herd.

Serious encounters between males may result in rutting which normally ends with the one or the other submitting by running away from the stronger, fitter ram.
Rutting between males may become intense with horns breaking off and rarely but not uncommon, death from piercing horns.

In a single breeding season up to 4 different males may dominate the same breeding herd at different periods.

The dominant male advertises his presence vocally by a series of vocalisations including grunting, snorting and roaring. He also scent-marks his territory by leaving fresh and regular deposits of dung on territory markers called “middens”. The number of middens will vary in number and are found throughout his territory with the more regularly marked middens found along the territory boundaries.

He also scent-marks by rubbing secretions of fluid from his face onto twigs and grasses.

The male regularly tests the reproductive status of females within the breeding herd by tasting their urine.

A small pit found in the males’ upper pallet leads to an organ known as the “Organ of Jacobson”. After licking the females urine, particles of urine are passed from the males tongue into the upper pallet pit then through to the Organ of Jacobson. This organ tests the urine and then sends a signal to the males’ brain to inform him of the reproductive status of the female.

After a successful copulation the female goes through a 7 month gestation period and gives birth to a single lamb, very rarely having twins.

Interesting Facts on the Impala:

•Females that have an excess level of testosterone have been known to grow horns. The horns however may grow disproportionately.

•A pregnant female is capable of extending her gestation period by up to 2 weeks if the start of the summer rains are late, which will result in poor grazing value and thus poor nutritional value of her milk produced.

•An impala can jump as far as 12 meters and as high as 3 meters!