In fact, the bite of the Black Mamba has been studied for its analgesic effects and the fact that it does not produce pain to its victims. However, this leads to many black mamba injuries going unnoticed or otherwise untreated, given the fact that they don't hurt.
Twenty minutes after being bitten you may be lose the ability to talk. After one hour you're probably comatose, and by six hours, without an antidote, you are dead. A person will experience "pain, paralysis and then death within six hours," says Damaris Rotich, the curator for the snake park in Nairobi.
A human can collapse within 45 minutes of a Black Mamba bite. Without treatment it can take 7 to 15 hours for a Black Mamba bite to kill you. The sooner a person is treated after the bite, the better his chances of survival. A Black Mamba antidote is administered where necessary, but some people may be allergic.
If a snake were to bite itself, antibodies would quash any venom injected into the blood. They bind to the venomous protein particles, forming harmless pieces of protein which are ejected by the kidneys. Snakes have evolved so they can bite their own tails but cannot poison themselves.
The venom of the black mamba snake, one of the world's deadliest poisons administered by one of the world's deadliest reptiles, can kill you within half an hour. Untreated bites have a mortality rate of 100%.
Before we get to the fun bit, we should note that black mambas are from Africa and inland taipans are from Australia. This means under natural circumstances, the two species would never meet.
Stories of black mambas that chase and attack humans are common, but in fact the snakes generally avoid contact with humans. Most apparent cases of pursuit probably are examples of where witnesses have mistaken the snake's attempt to retreat to its lair when a human happens to be in the way.
A black mamba will chase a person down to kill them. However, their speed does make getting away from one that feels threatened a bit more difficult. "We can outrun them. They're believed to be the fastest snake in the world, moving up to 12 kilometers per hour (7.4mph)," he said.
Over distance they slow down to 7 MPH (12 KPH). However, the average human run speed over distance is 6 MPH (10 KPH). Thus, you cant outrun a Black Mamba. Still, Black Mambas are extremely shy and will do everything they can to avoid people.
Behavior & Humans
This snake is feared and often killed by people because of its aggressive reputation. However, it's more likely that it's unpredictable due to its nervous nature. It's a skittish snake that doesn't tolerate humans approaching too closely, and will most likely try to hide or escape first.
Some fun facts about the Black Mamba:
They are some of the world's fastest snakes and are capable of speeds of more than 12 miles (19 km) per hour and hence will be the one which can kill the fastest. In the wild, a black mamba can live for up to 11 years.
Most snakes are rather slow except when striking. Unfortunately, the black mamba can move at about 7 mph and strike much, much faster. That means the snake moves about as fast as the average person jogs. A black mamba will chase a person down to kill them.
Black mambas are shy but aggressive, and if cornered, the snake may rear up and threaten with an open mouth and a slightly expanded or flattened neck (or hood) before striking. Black mambas can strike repeatedly, injecting its deadly neurotoxic venom which causes difficulty in breathing within half an hour.
Predation. Adult mambas have few natural predators aside from birds of prey. Brown snake eagles are verified predators of adult black mambas, of up to at least 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in). Other eagles known to hunt or at least consume grown black mambas include tawny eagles and martial eagles.
The inland or western taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus, is the most venomous snake in the world, according to Britannica. Native to Australia, this snake has the deadliest venom based on median lethal dose, or LD50, tests on mice.
Black Mambas vs.
Although shorter than the king cobra, a black mamba's venom is five times deadlier. These snakes are some of the most feared in the world.
Like most diurnal snakes in South Africa, black mambas are considered to have good vision. They are able to detect motion and may strike if they pick up any sudden movement perceived as a threat. Their keen eyesight also helps them hunt for the small mammals that typically make up their diet.
The black mamba is Africa's deadliest snake. Untreated, its bite has a fatality rate of 100 percent, making it a killer among killers on a continent where it is thought that nearly 20,000 people die of snake bites each year, and the residents of Swaziland in southern Africa have suffered losses for generations.
After the king cobra, the black mamba is the longest venomous snake in the world. It is also the fastest-moving snake in the world, reaching up to 23km/h.
Black Mamba vs Black Widow: Bites Per Year
Additionally, it's difficult to tell how many deaths resulting from black mamba bites occur each year. The number that is often cited (20,000) is referring to all snake-related deaths across the continent, meaning that black mambas are some percentage of that number.
Since mambas are also able to swim, they can move smoothly and easily in the water, too. Though green mambas spend more time up in trees, black mambas do occasionally climb trees and have been known to drop on their predators if they feel threatened.
The black mamba's most practiced means of protection is avoidance. Though its potent venom earned it a deadly reputation, these snakes are shy and secretive, almost always seeking to escape rather than attack when confronted. Black mambas generally avoid human settlements and are unlikely to enter peoples' homes.
Introducing the most venomous snake in the world and epic predator of the Australian outback! The inland taipan is otherwise known as the fierce snake or small scaled snake. They can be marvelled at in our Robert's Reptile House, right here at Australia Zoo.
Black mambas are larger, faster, very aggressive, and capable of attacking from a distance. If an inland taipan and a black mamba fought, the latter would be most likely to win, though there's a chance they would both end up killing each other with venom.