#KeWildlife – Story 12

Grey, brown and bronze: a canvas of a unique kind, irregular spots blotched all over, and a triangular shaped head. One of the more distinctive features is the set of sub-ocular marks under its eyes.

An African Rock Python is both fascinating as it is deadly.

As the name suggests, this snake is indigenous to Africa and is one of two subspecies of the Rock Python. The second being the Southern Africa Rock Python found in some parts of Tanzania and in the southern region of our continent.

The automatic assumption when it comes to these scaly creatures is that one bite is all it takes to kill any person or animal, but while most snakes are venomous, the African Rock Python is different. This reptile is so long and muscular, it kills through constriction. It will wrap itself around its prey until the prey can no longer breathe – death by cardiac arrest. Its strength is evident through its ability to kill animals three times its size. However, the most common kills by the python include bushbucks, antelopes, birds, and crocodiles. The python waits underwater for the herbivores to approach a lake and then it strikes almost aggressively, swallowing the prey head-first, whole. There are few stories of surviving animals once the rock python ‘attacks’. Large meals are said to take months to digest.

While that is common for the adult rock pythons, the smaller ones feed on rodents and birds that are easy to digest. The female rock pythons lay up to 100 eggs, which they safely keep in an abandoned cave against other animals including their own kind. The snake’s length helps protect its young ones even after they hatch for up to two weeks.

This wildlife species is also particular in that during the dry season, the animal is mostly dormant.

Some African Rock Pythons have been spotted around Lake Baringo.