Jump to content

Show us your snakes and crocs etc...


Paul T

Recommended Posts

I can't see a thread for these creatures so I'll get the ball rolling.

 

Love them or hate them (well I know some people who do) but you have to respect them .....

 

Mara River Oct 2007

 

Croc10a.jpg

 

Croc1a.jpg

 

Croc12a.jpg

 

 

South Luangwa NP Nov 2010

 

Croc6.jpg

 

Croc5_filtered.jpg

 

 

Chobe NP Jun 2011

 

Bot_Croc2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
africapurohit

I love them (but not as much as snakes). You have some fantastic shots of an animal that's not always the easiest to capture in a photograph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
Game Warden

So who has any great snake pics?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will post some snakes but sticking with crocs there are actually five species of crocodile in Africa so here are some photos of one of the others.

 

The slender-snouted crocodile was recently split into two species the West African Slender snouted (Mecistops cataphractus) and the Central African Slender-snouted (M. leptorhynchus) they are much smaller than the Nile Croc, and the West African Croc, their slender snout gives it an appearance similar to that of the Indian gharial and is an adaption to eating fish. One of the best places to see the Central African species is in Loango NP in Gabon where the following photos were taken. 

 

2323914855_56ea512880_o.jpg 

 

Central African slender-snouted crocodile, Mpivie River near Loango National Park in Gabon

 

46513255591_07526f2668_o.jpg

 

 

2325452796_25402d9e63_o.jpg 

Rembo Ngowe River Loango NP

 

Along narrow forest rivers like this there are no sandbanks, so the crocs climb up into leaning or fallen trees to bask in the sun, Nile crocs are obviously two big to do this, so they’re restricted to the bigger rivers and coastal lagoons where they can haul out to bask. The slender-snouted Crocs undoubtedly benefit both from the lack of competition with and of course predation by the much larger Nile Crocs.

Edited by inyathi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like the slender-snouted crocodiles in my last post African rock pythons Python sebae also climb up into trees to bask in the sun.

 

2323914851_0ceb61ded9_o.jpg 

 

While this one was in the rainforest rock pythons are found across Sub-Saharan Africa in a whole range of different habitats most often near water, in savannah habitats trees and bushes around waterholes are a good place to look for them and of course beside rivers and lakes. Basking on top of bushes or up in trees keeps them out of the way of other predators until they’ve warmed up and the water obviously attracts plenty of potential prey.

 

Here’s one in Tarangire

 

 

 

Rock Python Tarangire

 

 

 

Unless you’re a pretty big python the ground is not a particularly safe place to be as this video I found from Londolozi shows

 

 

Female leopard hunts massive rock python

 

 

 

While I’ve never seen a leopard taking on a python I have once seen a civet attacking one during a night drive in Lower Zambezi NP in Zambia but sadly I didn’t get any photos.

 

Unlike I imagine a few people here, I don’t have problem with snakes and I am always happy if I’m lucky enough to see one. If you’re on a walk say and you come across a snake normally you’ve nothing to fear, if you can see the snake then as long as you give it space, you should be quite safe, even if it’s a puff adder or some other highly venomous species. It’s the one you don’t see, that you don’t even know is there that poses the greatest danger.

 

Can you spot the snake in this photo?

 

2329021692_54f584462b_o.jpg

Tread carefully, in Mikongo Forest in Lope National Park in Gabon

Edited by inyathi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[media=]

[/media]

 

I thought I'd embedded this video but for some reason it didn't work so here it is again

Edited by inyathi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That last photo I posted was taken in the Mikongo Forest in Lope NP in Gabon, it’s very difficult to see even in the full sized version of that photo, but there is a rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasicornis) lying right next to the trail, near the bottom left of the picture. The snake was completely motionless doubtless waiting for a rodent or some other small mammal to come along, had one of the guides not spotted it, we could have easily carried on walking, completely oblivious to the danger.

 

 

2329021512_552c132bb2_o.jpg

Rhinoceros viper in Mikongo Forest in Lope National Park in Gabon

 

 

46539299681_34e009b0da_o.jpg 

 

 

46766091951_42d922a2f2_o.jpg 

 

 

46560072042_511a1e0e80_o.jpg 

 

The guides were a little unhappy with me taking these photos this is after all an extremely venomous species but I had no intention of getting within striking distance and felt quite safe, as a rule vipers like this are pretty docile and quite approachable they will only bite if you really antagonise them. The snake’s first defence is to stay motionless and try to remain invisible but this does make them vulnerable to being stepped on by accident, obviously it doesn't make sense to just bite anything that gets too close so usually they issue a warning hiss and if that fails to deter then they may bite though not always. Had we not spotted it, it’s quite possible that we would have just walked past none the wiser, however once we knew it was there we backed up and took a different trail.

Edited by inyathi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
marcianluanda

Black Mamba in Lake Manyara 2010- we waited to pass until he was well off the road.

 

gallery_17494_668_84533.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Let's have some more snake pics please. And crocs. And reptiles...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Black Mamba in Lake Manyara 2010- we waited to pass until he was well off the road.

Yikes! :huh:

I came across one while riding my bicycle down a dirt track to a friend's neighbouring farm once. I rode straight back home - that's how wide a berth I gave that snake! :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
bushmaniac

Stripe-bellied sandsnake, at Sabi Sabi, South Africa.

 

gallery_18242_832_118226.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

We need more crocs, snakes and other reptilian images to pad out this topic. What have you got?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Green Pit Viper from Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka 2010 taken with Panasonic DMC-FZ35

 

125578611.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That´s an old one back from 2007 in Lebala.

Spencer located the Python and jumped out of the car to photograph and I followed after I asked for permission.

Then I lay flat on the ground to take a few snaps. The snake came very close. As the AF didn´t work any more, I realized, it was time to get up and move away from the snake.
2077648829_9d8618920f_o.jpg

Edited by Wild Dogger
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Wild Dogger very nice. Can I use this one and a couple of your other images in the new banner? Thanks, Matt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have photos of some monster crocs from Katavi - quite a few that were 4m to 5m+. Much bigger than those wildebeest and zebra munching guys in the Mara river! Photos coming soon.......

 

Beautiful photo @@Wild Dogger!

Edited by africapurohit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

South Luangwa NP - Nov 2012

 

Striped grass snake

 

SnakeamprRat1.jpg

 

SnakeamprRat2.jpg

 

SnakeamprRat3.jpg

 

SnakeamprRat4.jpg

 

SnakeamprRat5.jpg

 

SnakeamprRat6.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never saw a Python that huge before. It might be about 5 m long, but it´s hard to estimate. The head is somewhere in the branches.
Funny enough, we drove past this place and didn´t see anything. The road we wanted to use was blocked, so we turned around. Just 5 minutes after our first passing we saw this massive snake.
It´s not actually a good photo but an impressive documentation of the size and camouflage of this reptile.
Taken somewhere on the road from Satara to Olifants, Kruger National Park, South Africa, in November 20094679437342_48a8c9424d_b.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

africapurohit

Great sighting @@Wild Dogger! It's next to a very homely underground burrow system, so it's likely that it was underground and came out during those 5 minutes you were away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Another python, South Luangwa NP, November 2012

 

Python2.jpg

 

Python1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
BertinHouston

Taken by Kathy Duplessis on our recent trip to Katavi NP in western Tanzania. This giant crocodile was trying to devour a large crocodile, shaking it like a wet rag. Nikon D300 with a 70-200 f2.8 VR. We were about 8 to 10 meters from the edge of what remained of the river.

post-47482-0-27167400-1386953924_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Safaritalk uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using Safaritalk you agree to our use of cookies. If you wish to refuse the setting of cookies you can change settings on your browser to clear and block cookies. However, by doing so, Safaritalk may not work properly and you may not be able to access all areas. If you are happy to accept cookies and haven't adjusted browser settings to refuse cookies, Safaritalk will issue cookies when you log on to our site. Please also take a moment to read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy: Terms of Use l Privacy Policy