Black Mamba General Knowledge Facts

• Black mambas use their incredible speed to escape threats, not to hunt prey.
• Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. 
• They have been blamed for numerous human deaths, and African myths exaggerate their capabilities to legendary proportions. For these reasons, the black mamba is widely considered the world’s deadliest snake.
• Black mambas live in the savannas and rocky hills of southern and eastern Africa.
• They are among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour (20 kilometers per hour).
• They get their name not from their skin color, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black color of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened.
• Black mambas are shy and will almost always seek to escape when confronted. However, when cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss.
• If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike.
• The mamba's venom contains a powerful neurotoxin which works by preventing impulses from travelling along the nerves. The victim becomes paralysed and death occurs through respiratory failure.
• Black mambas spend their nights in holes in the ground - usually disused burrows - or hiding deep among fallen rocks or timber. These hiding places are also fled to by the snake if it becomes alarmed and it will attack any creature blocking the path to its hole.
• Black mambas travel quickly across rough ground or along low tree branches when hunting. They are able to hold their heads up to 1m above the ground when striking and can hold them 50cm above the ground even when moving
• Females lay between 10 and 25 eggs, usually in decaying vegetation.
• Black mamba hatchlings are around 51cm long, and greyish-green in colour. They are independent immediately and can catch prey the size of a small rat. Within a year they reach 2m. 
• Young mambas are eaten by mongooses, and even adult mambas are eaten by the secretary bird and larger species of eagle.