Mole Snake

Afrikaans name: Molslang

Mole Snake

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Pseudaspis cana

Mole Snakes are large and potentially aggressive snakes that can deliver a painful, if not poisonous, bite.

These are large snakes that can reach a length of over 2 metres but most are around 1.4 metres.

Mole Snakes are found in a variety of colours from beige to blackish. They have a powerful body with a blunt nose which is an adaptation for burrowing.

As their name suggests they feed on moles but will take other small mammals. Eggs are also sometimes taken. Juveniles may eat other small reptiles.

Adult male Mole Snakes may fight viciously over females during the breeding season. Females can give birth to up to 50 live young.

References and further reading

The Sandton Field Guide - Author: Sandton Nature Conservation Society - Published: 1982 - Page: 76

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 67

Wildlife of the Cape Peninsula - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2001 - Page: 75

Southern African Wildlife - Author: Reader s Digest - Published: 1989 - Page: 216

Snakes & Snakebite in Southern Africa - 2nd edition - Author: Johan Marais - Published: 2014 - Page: 106

The Reptiles of the Kruger National Park - Author: U. de V. Pienaar, WD Haacke and NHG Jacobsen - Published: 1983 - Page: 154

Snakes of Africa - Author: R.M. Isemonger - Published: 1983 - Page: 130

Reptiles & Amphibians of Southern Africa - Author: Warren Schmidt - Published: 2006 - Page: 23

Reptiles of Southern Africa - Author: Rod Patterson and Anothony Bannister - Published: 1987 - Page: 72

Sasol First Field Guide to Snakes & other Reptiles of Southern Africa - 2nd edit - Author: Tracey Hawthorne - Published: 2016 - Page: 24

Reptiles & Amphibians of Southern Africa - Author: Warren Schmidt - Published: 2006 - Page: 13

Kruger National Park Map - 2010 - Author: Joy Frandsen - Published: 2010 - Page: 10

Questions and Answers - Snakes and Reptiles of Southern Africa - Author: John Comrie-Greig - Published: 1992 - Page: 27

Field Guide to Fynbos Fauna - Author: Cliff & Suretha Dorse - Published: 2023 - Page: 110

Field Guide to the West Coast - Author: H. Marshall and B. Mommsen - Published: 1994 - Page: 80

go! - Issue 147 - Author: - Published: 2018 - Page: 10

Illustrated Guide to the Game Parks and Nature Reserves of SA - 2nd edn - Author: Reader s Digest - Published: 1991 - Page: 406

A Field Guide to the Snakes of Southern Africa - Author: V.F.M. Fitzsimmons - Published: 1970 - Page: 106

A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa - Author: Graham Alexander and Johan Marais - Published: 2007 - Page: 99

Bill Branch s Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa - Author: Bill Branch - Published: 1988 - Page: 63

A Field Guide to the Eastern Cape Coast - Author: R. Lubke, F. Gess & M. Bruton - Published: 1988 - Page: 259

The Reptile Database

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