Reptiles
African Rock Python
Python sebae · also called african rock python, central african rock python
The African rock python is the biggest snake on the continent, a heavy-bodied constrictor that can overpower prey as large as an antelope. It is also one of very few snakes anywhere that stays with its eggs — coiling around the clutch, shivering to warm it, and sheltering the hatchlings for weeks.
Overview
African rock pythons live across sub-Saharan Africa in savanna, grassland, and rocky country, often near water. Commonly 3–4.5 m and documented over 5 m, they are Africa’s largest snake, killing mammals and birds up to antelope size by constriction.
A python that parents
The female coils around her 20 to 100 eggs for the whole 2–3 month incubation, shivering to warm them, then continues to shelter the hatchlings for up to two weeks.
Rarely, a danger to people
It is one of a small number of snakes large enough to occasionally kill a human — almost always a child — though such incidents are extremely rare.
Status
The African rock python is Near Threatened and decreasing, hunted for skins and meat and killed out of fear across much of its range.
African Rock Python: common questions
How large does the African rock python actually get?
Most fully grown adults fall in the range of about 3 to 4.5 metres, with individuals over 5 metres well documented and considered large but not exceptional for the species. Historical accounts describe considerably larger snakes, but these generally lack reliable measurement and are treated with caution, since snake lengths are notoriously exaggerated and a large python's loose skin and heavy body make accurate measurement difficult. Even at typical sizes, the African rock python is a genuinely massive, powerfully muscled snake and is recognised as the largest snake species native to the African continent.
Does the African rock python really guard its eggs and babies?
Yes, and this level of parental care is unusual among snakes. After laying a clutch that can number from around 20 up to 100 eggs, the female coils tightly around them and remains in place for the entire two-to-three-month incubation period, rarely leaving even to feed, and she can generate additional warmth for the clutch by rhythmically contracting her muscles. Once the eggs hatch, she continues to shelter the young snakes, allowing them to shelter beneath and among her coils for up to about two weeks, providing protection during the most vulnerable early period of their lives before they disperse.
How dangerous is the African rock python to humans?
Genuine attacks on people are very rare, but the African rock python is one of only a handful of snake species in the world that is large and strong enough to realistically kill an adult or, more often, a child by constriction and to attempt to swallow a human-sized body. The small number of documented fatal incidents, almost all involving young children in rural areas, receive considerable media attention precisely because they are so exceptional. In the overwhelming majority of encounters the snake attempts to flee or, if cornered, delivers a defensive bite from its many backward-curving teeth rather than attempting to constrict, and it is not venomous.
Why is the African rock python declining?
Several pressures act together across its wide range. It is hunted for its large, patterned skin, which is valued in the leather trade, and also for its meat and for use in traditional medicine, and it is frequently killed on sight out of fear or in retaliation for taking poultry, goats, or other livestock. On top of this direct killing, the conversion of savanna and grassland to farmland and settlement reduces both its habitat and its wild prey. The species remains widespread in less disturbed regions and large protected areas, but the combination of exploitation, persecution, and habitat loss has produced an overall declining trend.