IUCN red list status:
Least Concern
For more informations, please visit iucnredlist.org
Western Gaboon Vipers live in West Africa.
They are carnivores; young eat lizards and frogs while adults eat birds or even mammals the size of rabbits.
Males engage in combat before mating takes place. Gestation is 7-12 months and females can birth up to 50 live young at a time.
Western Gaboon Vipers live up to 20 years in captivity, less in the wild.
Western Gaboon Viper
About the Western Gaboon Viper
West African Gaboon Vipers have a triangular head and distrinct horn-like scales above their nostrils. The color of their ridged scales vary from brown to purple, and they have an intricate symmetrical design pattern along their body that resembles a line of yellow hourglasses. They primarily eat small mammals, rodents, ground-dwelling birds, frogs, and toads.
Did you know?
Western Gaboon Vipers are venomous – venomous animals inject venom through their fangs when they bite, which can damage living tissue and even be fatal in some cases for humans