Reproduction
As is the case with almost all vertebrates, black mambas
reproduce sexually. They are diecious animals, meaning that
there are separate male and female organisms. There isn’t a lot
of sexual dimorphism exhibited in this species, so both male and
females have the same appearance. Black mambas breed once
during the year and this occurs in the spring, which in Africa
is around September. Black mambas have a distinct mating ritual
in which the males will fight for the right to mate with a
female. These fights will occur in the form of wrestling and
the snakes will try to
Photo Courtesy of hj_west,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hjwest/7927017416/
capture the females attention so that
they will choose them to mate. These fights will last anywhere
from a few minutes to an hour. When a suitable female mate has
been found, the male will inspect the female with its sensitive
tongue by flicking it across her body. After the two snakes are
finished mating, the male and female no longer interact. The
female will produce 15 to 25 eggs and they will grow in her body
for around 60 days at which point she will lay them to hatch.
Once exposed to the external environment, they will incubate for
60 days. Ideal locations to nest the eggs are mounds of dirt
and the females will seek out these out. The females will
aggressively defend their eggs in the nest. The young
hatch at around 50 cm in length and are independent right from
the beginning, as they have to hunt and acquire food for
themselves. They also contain potent venom from birth,
but are not able to inject as much venom as an adult is able to.
To learn about an animal that births live young, click here
Continue to Interactions