Rhinoceros Viper

Known in parts of its range as the river jack, this thick-bodied viper of wet African forest is usually 70 to 90 centimetres long. It keeps close to water and swims well. It also climbs into shrubs and low trees, gripping with a partly prehensile tail.

• Its colors are bright but still break up the body.
• The two or three pairs of horn-like projections on the nose are enlarged, modified scales.
• It is a close relative of the Gaboon viper.
• It gives birth to live young, with litters sometimes numbering well over a dozen.

Mostly nocturnal. Daylight hours are spent hidden in leaf litter, in holes, beside fallen trees or among tangled roots, sometimes at the same spot for days.

Habitat: rainforest floor, swamp forest, and dense humid cover

Native range: Central and West Africa

Rodents and other small mammals are the main prey, with frogs and toads taken near water; fish have been reported. It lies coiled and motionless until an animal comes within reach, then strikes from where it rests.

Mostly nocturnal. Daylight hours are spent hidden in leaf litter, in holes, beside fallen trees or among tangled roots, sometimes at the same spot for days.

In captivity it is reported to live for roughly 10 to 15 years; how long wild snakes survive has not been documented.

Litters of about 6 to 38 young are recorded, each 18 to 25 centimetres long at birth. In West Africa births fall around March and April, at the start of the rains. The newborn snakes fend for themselves at once.

Adult females may be larger; both sexes share the horned camouflage pattern. Males are slimmer, with a longer tail for their length.

Rarity: Rare · 76/100. Rhinoceros Viper is never easy to find and becomes less secure when rainforest floor, swamp forest, and dense humid cover is reduced or broken apart.

• Keep distance and let the animal choose the space.
• Avoid blocking movement routes, nesting areas, or feeding behavior.
• Use optics, patience, and quiet observation instead of crowding for a closer view.