African Safari in Tanzania: The Black Mamba Incident

We were fine on our African safari after spending time in the Ngorongoro crater and a couple of days in the Serengeti in a luxury tent camp. With that particular segment of our safari coming to a close, we rode to the meeting area about 45 minutes away to meet our safari guide and main driver, Fabian Ngua, who drove from some distance to meet us. He would be with us again for the rest of the safari.

One of the people in our safari group had seen a photo of a Black Mamba snake in one of the reference books that Fabian carried in his vehicle. They are a very poisonous snake found in that area. That person, whose identity will not be disclosed, to protect the culprits, was fascinated by snakes and knew that Black Mambas lived in the area we were visiting. For clarity, let’s call that person Reptilia. As we began our multi-hour trek through the Serengeti to our next tent camp, Reptilia told our driver that we only had to see one Black Mamba before the safari was over.

Black mamba (nicknamed Death’s shadow)

• Size: the largest poisonous snake in Africa (8.2 feet ~ 14 feet)
• Speed ​​- reputed to be the fastest moving snake in the world – up to 12 mph
• Color: Mouth – Black interior, Skin – gray to olive tone
• Venom: one of the most poisonous snakes in the world
• Bite: One bite can inject enough venom to kill 20-40 adult males
• Lifestyle: lives mainly in grasslands of Africa, also in shrubs and small trees.

While we saw different animals and also some AL-Ts, she kept saying she wanted to see a Black Mamba snake. We laugh and often shrug our shoulders. The rest of us wanted to see wild animals and birds. Snakes were the last thing on our minds, poisonous. However, we frequently searched the dirt road in front of us for any sign of a black mamba. We also scan the roadside along our vehicle for that elusive snake in hopes of satisfying Reptilia. Partly out of curiosity, partly to satisfy her, we actually tried to spot a black mamba.

Fabian received a radio call that they had seen two Black Mambas quite close to us. He quickly got us there and spent some time looking, but there were no snakes in sight, let alone two Black Mambas. We continued our journey still hoping to see that sight that was so dear to Reptilia, but instead we managed to see a lot of wildebeest, zebras, baboons, vultures, elephants, giraffes and other wild animals.

Time passed, no Black Mamba came to greet us or even scare us. We couldn’t detect one no matter how hard we tried. We stopped in an area of ​​tall grass and brush and some small trees to eat our boxed lunch. Reptilia was looking around in the grass through the zoom lens of her camcorder for a Black Mamba as the rest of us began to eat our lunch. We were all still in the vehicle, as is the usual case. Only in areas considered relatively safe would our driver allow us to leave the vehicle. This was one of those areas.

Still looking and waiting, Reptilia suddenly blurted out, “I think I see a Black Mamba.” He looked and looked several times at what was probably a Black Mamba hiding in the grass a few feet from our vehicle. It was difficult to discern exactly what that small strip of grayish-black was, but she was almost certain that it was a Black Mamba that she had wanted so badly to see. We all took turns looking through the camera, but none of us could positively identify what we saw as a snake, let alone a Black Mamba. What we saw was grayish black in color, but it was so buried in the grass that it leaves serious doubt in most of our minds. It could have been a twig, a small branch, or some other non-living being.

After about ten minutes of listening to comments from others and looking in the grass (from our vehicle and through my camera) where the snake was supposed to be, I couldn’t come to the conclusion that it was alive, let alone the revered. Black Mamba who had already caught everyone’s attention. I thought about it for a few seconds and decided that it wasn’t very likely that it was one of those poisonous snakes. If it were, it probably would have already moved or at least the grass or leaves would have rustled.

So almost instinctively or rather out of curiosity, I decided to check it out, hoping against hope that I was right and Reptilia was wrong. I got out of the vehicle and walked to near where the dangerous snake was hiding. Reptilia handed me the camera pointing at the tiny image in the LCD viewfinder. I didn’t see a snake through the camera, just a small grayish sliver that I could barely make out.

I cautiously approached the place where the “snake” was hiding while picking up a twig. Then I poked around in that area where the supposed snake was hiding. Hit after hit and flipping blades and splitting grass. I looked in that “snake-infested” area. Nothing, absolutely nothing moved or could be seen, as he fanned the area in search of the Black Mamba. Some in the group were holding their breath during my search of the brush, knowing that if there really were a Black Mamba or any other poisonous snake in the grass, it would not be a pretty sight.

That little escape of mine in the undergrowth threw the precious sighting of Reptilia’s Black Mamba into oblivion. I think she felt a bit withdrawn and calmed down (a bit) the rest of the safari about seeing a Black Mamba. However, I was still hoping to see one of those hard-to-spot Black Mambas (for us at least). If anyone is curious who Reptilia really is, they are a director of Golden West Intermodal Inc and you can find out their name by contacting them on their website contact form.

Our safari ended a few days later without the fanfare of seeing a real Black Mamba. Maybe next time we will have better luck. Yes, circumstances permitting, we all wish we could go back and live the whole safari experience again. Plans are already underway for an African Safari attempt in 2010, as reservations generally must be made a year or more in advance. Let’s see how many of us will return, although everyone would like that “trip of a lifetime” to happen again.

Copyright © Charles Harmon