The waiting game

Many of the snakes found in South Africa are ambush hunters, which means they lie in wait for their prey. This includes most adders, and bulkier snakes like the southern

African python.

Contrary to the popular belief that snakes must eat all the time, they can actually survive on very little food. The average for an ambush-hunting snake is 6 – 30 meals per year, but it’s not uncommon for a large snake like a python to sustain itself on just one meal in a year.

Ambush hunters will establish a likely area where their prey will move around. A snake does this by using a cluster of sensory cells on the roof of its mouth (called a Jacobson’s organ) that can detect odour particles, and its tongue, which also contains chemical sensors. Once a well-camouflaged ambush spot has been selected, the snake will coil up in a striking position and the wait begins…

A snake will ensure that it has a clear strike zone before settling down for what could be days or even weeks. Some have been known to flatten out grass stems with their bodies to “clear” the area before the next meal passes by.

The strike is rapid, but only about 50 % of strikes are successful. If detected soon enough, rodents and other small animals can jump out of the way to escape the deadly fangs and venom. They don’t react to seeing the snake, but rather respond to sound. A python doesn’t rely on venom to subdue its prey. It will latch on with sharp teeth and throw a few coils around the animal before constricting and killing it. Starting with the head, it then swallows its prey whole. If that prey is an antelope with horns, the horns will also be swallowed!

An adder, like a puff adder, will strike and envenomate its prey, but it doesn’t hang on like a constrictor. The rodent will run off and die (as near as 20 paces away) and the snake will follow its scent with a flickering tongue.

Other snakes are active hunters, like mambas and cobras. They go out and search for their prey, and have a higher success rate, but they are also more vulnerable to predators and use up a great deal of energy while searching. Everything in life comes at a price.

– Johan Marais