第 0039 號，共 1 402 號

Western green mamba

Dendroaspis viridis

名字的由來： Its scientific name uses the Latin word 'viridis', meaning green.1

致命地球上最致命的動物之一。如果牠咬了你，要立刻求救。快速救援和抗毒血清能救活大多數人。立刻打緊急電話。

眼鏡蛇、曼巴蛇和環蛇

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

The western green mamba is a long, thin and highly venomous snake. It lives in forests, thickets and woodland along the coast of West Africa, and it spends most of its time high in the trees. Its venom is fast-acting, so any bite needs urgent medical care.1

分布在

West Africa, from Gambia and southern Senegal east to Benin, including Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo1

非洲

首頁

It lives mainly in coastal tropical rainforest, thicket and woodland, and mostly in the forest canopy. It can survive where trees have been cleared if hedges and thicket remain, and it is found in some suburbs, towns and parklands with enough vegetation.1

長度

1,4 m 到 2,1 m (4,6 ft 到 6,9 ft)1

最高速度

大約 8,3 km/h（5,2 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It hunts mainly in trees, though it can also hunt on the ground. Its prey includes birds, rodents and squirrels.1

Western green mamba 的照片 — Western green mamba。照片：Patrick Coin no u(Patrick Coin)。 CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Bright green, fading to yellow or orange towards the tail.1
Scales have prominent black edges, which give a networked pattern.1
Long, slender body with a long tapering tail.1
Long, thin head with medium-sized eyes that have round pupils and yellowish brown irises.1
Typical adult length is 1.4 to 2.1 metres.1

常被誤認為： It can be mistaken for green bushsnakes of the genus Philothamnus, and for the boomslang. Counting scales is a key way to identify snakes to species level, and the western green mamba has 13 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, fewer than any similar species.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Its venom contains neurotoxins (which attack the nerves), cardiotoxins (which harm the heart) and fasciculins. Symptoms usually start within about 15 minutes and can include pain and swelling, headache, drowsiness, difficulty breathing, vertigo, low blood pressure and paralysis. Without treatment, the victim can die when paralysis stops the breathing muscles, and a bite can be fatal in as little as 30 minutes.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 致命世界上最危險的動物之一。

Bites to people are uncommon because the snake is rarely encountered and conflict with humans is low compared with some other species in the region. However, many recorded bites have been fatal, and the World Health Organization lists it as a snake of medical importance in western sub-Saharan Africa.1

好消息：醫生有藥（抗毒血清）或治療方法。1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When threatened, it can flatten its neck into a slight hood, and it usually retreats if it is encountered.1

如果牠咬人

Apply a pressure bandage, keep the victim as still as possible and take them quickly to a hospital or clinic. An arterial tourniquet may help because of the venom's neurotoxic effects. Antivenom is the main treatment, and tetanus toxoid is sometimes given.1
讓傷者保持不動和冷靜，取下戒指和緊身的東西，並趕快送醫院：抗毒血清就是治療方法。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠咬了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 4 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 12 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長可以在 43 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Western green mamba 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

Western green mamba 大約 8,3 km/h (5,2 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 大約 12 km/h (7,5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Its venom is among the fastest-acting of any snake, and symptoms can appear within about 15 minutes of a bite.1

Its venom is more potent than that of the eastern green mamba, and much less potent than that of the black mamba.1

It is mostly active during the day and spends most of its time in the forest canopy, sometimes at considerable height.1

The oldest recorded specimen was a captive snake that lived 18.7 years.1

It is one of the more expensive African snake species, and it is collected and sold internationally.1

破解迷思

迷思： Western green mambas are aggressive snakes that attack people.

真相： Opinions differ on how aggressive it is, and it usually retreats when encountered. Bites are uncommon, but when cornered it can attack, and its bites have a high fatality rate.1