West African carpet viper
The West African carpet viper is a small, highly venomous snake that lives in the savanna of West Africa. Its bite is one of the most dangerous of any snake in Africa. It is known for its row of eye-spots and its aggressive, alarm-like behaviour when threatened.1

Bí o ṣe lè dá a mọ̀
- It has bulging eyes and a short snout, typical of vipers in the genus Echis.1
- A distinctive series of eye-spots, called ocelli, runs the length of its body.1
- It is terrestrial, so it lives on the ground rather than in trees.1
- It is mostly active at night and at dusk (nocturnal and crepuscular).1
A sábà máa ń ṣì í mọ̀ sí: Older records from Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea refer to Echis jogeri, and those from eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and southern Chad refer to Echis romani. These are now recognised as separate species. Echis leucogaster is more common north of the 15th parallel, where this snake is rarely found.1
Agbára oró
Oró ń jáde láti inú eyín oró tàbí eyín rẹ̀ nígbà tí ó bá bùjẹ.
Kí ni oró rẹ̀ máa ń ṣe?
Its venom is a mix of procoagulants, anticoagulants, haemorrhagins, nephrotoxins and necrotoxins. Procoagulants make blood clot, while anticoagulants stop it clotting, so bleeding can occur. Nephrotoxins damage the kidneys, and necrotoxins kill tissue around the bite. Local symptoms include pain, swelling, bleeding, tissue death (necrosis) and disfigurement, which may lead to amputation. Whole-body symptoms include coagulopathy (blood clotting problems), haemorrhages, shock, kidney failure and blindness.1
Báwo ló ṣe léwu tó fún ènìyàn?
Ewu fún ènìyàn: ApaniỌ̀kan lára àwọn ẹranko tó léwu jùlọ ní ayé.The West African carpet viper causes more human deaths from snakebite than all other African snakes combined. The envenoming rate is 80%, and the lethality rate is 10–20%.1
Ìròyìn ayọ̀: àwọn dókítà ní oògùn (antivenom) tàbí ìtọ́jú fún èyí.1
Kí ni ó máa ń ṣe nígbà tí ẹ̀rù bá bà á?
When threatened, it forms its body into an S shape and rubs its scales together to make an alert sound.1
Bí ó bá bùjẹ
- Jẹ́ kí ẹni náà wà láìmira kí ó sì farabalẹ̀, jẹ́ kí apá tàbí ẹsẹ̀ tí ó bù jẹ wà ní ìpele ọkàn, yọ òrùka àti àwọn nǹkan tó há, kí ẹ sì lọ sí ilé ìwòsàn kíákíá.
Máa kọ́kọ́ pe nọ́ńbà pàjáwìrì rẹ nígbà gbogbo (112, 000, 911). Èyí jẹ́ ìtọ́sọ́nà ìtọ́jú àkọ́kọ́ gbogbogbò, kì í ṣe ìmọ̀ràn ìṣègùn. Ìpìlẹ̀ ìtọ́jú àkọ́kọ́
Wà láìléwu
- Má ṣe fọwọ́ kan, mú tàbí yọ ẹranko igbó lẹ́nu láéláé, kódà bí ó bá kéré, kódà bí ó bá dà bí ẹni pé ó ń sùn tàbí ó ti kú.
- Fún un ní àyè. Bí o bá pàdé ọ̀kan, farabalẹ̀, sẹ́yìn díẹ̀díẹ̀ kí o sì jẹ́ kí ó máa bá ọ̀nà rẹ̀ lọ.
- Bí ọ̀kan bá bù ọ́ jẹ: farabalẹ̀, má ṣe mira, pe nọ́ńbà pàjáwìrì rẹ (112, 000, 911) tàbí lọ sí ilé ìwòsàn kíákíá. Rántí bí ó ṣe rí, fọ́tò máa ń ṣèrànwọ́.
Kò wá ọ kiri láti ṣe ọ́ léṣe. Ó ń lo oró rẹ̀ láti mú oúnjẹ tàbí láti dáàbò bo ara rẹ̀, ó sì fẹ́ràn láti farapamọ́ jù. Sí i nípa wíwà láìléwu
Báwo ló ṣe tóbi tó?
Báwo ló ṣe gùn tó?
ó gùn tó ọ̀gẹ̀dẹ̀ 4 tí a tò tẹ̀léra
lè sáré mítà 100 ní ìṣẹ́jú-àáyá 110 (ènìyàn tó yára jùlọ nílò 9.6)Báwo ni West African carpet viper ṣe tóbi tó tí a bá fi wé ÌWỌ?
Ìṣirò nìkan nínú bráwúsà rẹ. A kò fi ohunkóhun pamọ́, a kò sì fi ránṣẹ́ sí ibikíbi.
Báwo ló ṣe yára tó?
Òtítọ́
It makes an alert sound by rubbing its scales together while in an S-shaped posture.1
Hatchlings are already 10–12 cm long, which is a sizeable fraction of an adult's average length.1
Its scientific name, ocellatus, comes from the row of eye-spots, called ocelli, that runs along its body.1
Some individual snakes have been found far from its main range, including in the Central African Republic and central Sudan.1
Ibi tí àwọn òtítọ́ ti wá
- Echis ocellatus (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Echis ocellatus (iNaturalist): orúkọ àti ìpínsísọ̀rí.
- Venom Wiki: ìpele ewu, ìtóbi déédé àti àfojúbù ìyára jẹ́ tiwa. Wo bí a ṣe ń ṣírò wọn: Bí a ṣe ń díwọ̀n ewu.
Gbogbo òtítọ́ ojú-ìwé yìí ní nọ́ńbà tó tọ́ka sí orísun rẹ̀. Bí a bá ṣe àṣìṣe, má bínú, olólùfẹ́ ẹranko ni wá, kì í ṣe ìwé ìròyìn sáyẹ́ǹsì. Sọ fún wa ní [email protected] a ó sì tún un ṣe.
Ìbùjẹ

