Black Mamba

The black mamba is the fourth-most-venomous snake species in the world. Its combination of speed, unpredictable aggression, and potent venom make it an extremely dangerous species. The black mamba has a reputation for being very aggressive, but like most snakes, it usually attempts to flee from humans unless threatened. It has one of the most-potent snake venoms in the world, and the venom is the most rapid-acting among all other snakes,[18][19] and in cases of severe envenomation, it is capable of killing an adult human in as little as 20 minutes. Two such cases have been documented in the medical literature. In one such case, an adult male was bitten on his right arm, just above the wrist by a black mamba which was estimated to be approximately 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length. The victim began to show signs of prominent neurotoxicity within minutes. At ten minutes post-envenomation, respiratory paralysis set in and 20 minutes post-envenomation the victim showed no signs of life and was deceased.