Head to head
Gaboon Viper vs Puff Adder
The gaboon viper and the puff adder are close relatives, both members of the African genus Bitis, and both are thick, slow, superbly camouflaged ambush snakes. But one is a giant of the rainforest floor with almost mythical fangs and venom stats, while the other is an unremarkable-looking snake of open country that is, in plain numbers, the deadliest in Africa.
| Gaboon Viper | Puff Adder | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Bitis gabonica | Bitis arietans |
| Habitat | Rainforest and moist forest of central and West Africa | Savanna, grassland, and semi-desert across most of sub-Saharan Africa |
| Length and weight | About 1.5 to 2 m; 8 to 10 kg or more | About 1 m; 2 to 4 kg |
| Fangs | Longest of any snake, up to about 5 cm | Long for the body but far shorter than a gaboon viper |
| Camouflage | Intricate geometric pattern; vanishes in leaf litter | Brown and grey chevrons; blends into dry ground and paths |
| Temperament | Very placid; slow to strike | Sluggish but stands its ground; fast strike when it comes |
| Warning behaviour | Hisses; rarely bothers to display | Inflates the body and hisses loudly, the "puff" |
| Danger to people | Serious but rare bites | Causes the most snakebite deaths in Africa |
Gaboon Viper vs Puff Adder: common questions
Which is more dangerous, the gaboon viper or the puff adder?
It depends on what you mean. Drop for drop and bite for bite, the gaboon viper is more formidable: it injects more venom than almost any other snake, delivers it through fangs up to 5 cm long that reach deep into tissue, and a serious bite untreated can be rapidly fatal. But the puff adder kills and injures far more people, because danger in practice is about exposure, not just potency. Puff adders are common across nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa, live in farmland and around villages, are perfectly camouflaged on paths, and do not move away when someone approaches, so people tread on them constantly. The gaboon viper is limited to forest, is thinly distributed, and is reluctant to bite. So the gaboon viper is the more dangerous snake in theory and the puff adder the more dangerous snake in reality.
How can you tell a gaboon viper from a puff adder?
Size, pattern, and place. A gaboon viper is a massive, heavy snake, often well over 1.5 m, with a very wide flat head and a bold, sharp-edged pattern of pale and dark rectangles, triangles, and hourglass shapes running down the back, sometimes with a pinkish or purple tint. A puff adder is shorter and stouter in proportion, rarely much over a metre, with a rounder-looking head and a duller pattern of brown, tan, and grey bands or chevrons. Habitat is a strong clue too: a big viper in African rainforest or its edges is almost certainly a gaboon viper, while a thick viper in open savanna, grassland, farmland, or scrub is far more likely to be a puff adder.
Do either of these snakes chase people?
No. Neither snake pursues people, and the idea that any viper does is a myth. Both are ambush predators that rely on not being seen, so their entire strategy is to stay still. The gaboon viper will usually tolerate close approach and even handling without striking, which is one reason it is over-represented in captivity. The puff adder also stays put rather than fleeing, but that is the problem: because it does not retreat, people and animals step on or very near it, and then it strikes fast in self-defence. Bites from both species are defensive reactions to being trodden on, cornered, or handled, not attacks.