In a bush just outside my hut in Narus, South Sudan, I spotted this long slim brown snake. I grabbed my camera and crouched down so that we were eye to eye. I have no fear of snakes; they do not have 8 legs.
Only later, when showing the photo to a Sudanese man who froze at the sight, did I learn that this was a dreaded BOOMSLANG (tree snake), one of the more venomous reptiles in all of Africa. I liked the name.
Back home, I researched it on Wikipedia: Male boomslangs are light green with black or blue scale edges, but adult females may be brown. Averaging 3 to 6 feet in length, boomslangs have excellent eyesight and will often move their head from side to side to get a better view of objects directly in front of them. (That object would be ME holding the camera a few inches from its large beady eyes. Now I know why she was swaying.) The boomslang's fangs inject a highly potent venom which prevents clotting. Victims bleed to death. I was lucky; we parted friends. I still like its name, which carries a decidedly inner city hip-hop feel, or maybe even a winning high school cheer: "Gimme a Boom, Gimme a Boom, Gimme a BOOOOOM-Slang!"
Only later, when showing the photo to a Sudanese man who froze at the sight, did I learn that this was a dreaded BOOMSLANG (tree snake), one of the more venomous reptiles in all of Africa. I liked the name.
Back home, I researched it on Wikipedia: Male boomslangs are light green with black or blue scale edges, but adult females may be brown. Averaging 3 to 6 feet in length, boomslangs have excellent eyesight and will often move their head from side to side to get a better view of objects directly in front of them. (That object would be ME holding the camera a few inches from its large beady eyes. Now I know why she was swaying.) The boomslang's fangs inject a highly potent venom which prevents clotting. Victims bleed to death. I was lucky; we parted friends. I still like its name, which carries a decidedly inner city hip-hop feel, or maybe even a winning high school cheer: "Gimme a Boom, Gimme a Boom, Gimme a BOOOOOM-Slang!"
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