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I caught this snake back in April 2011 but until now have not had a chance to post it. I was called out to a training camp in Soyo, the Zaire Province of Northern Angola because of the presence of "black snake" up a cashew nut tree which birds were mobbing and causing quite a commotion. Having the description of a "black snake" I was expecting to find a Forest cobra Naja melanoleuca because these are very common here. When I arrived at the location the snake was about 9m above ground in the top a cashew nut tree and still being mobbed by various birds. Once I climbed the tree and had a closer look I was surprised to find a Black tree snake Thrasops jacksoni because I have been working in this area for 5 years now and this was the first specimen of this species that I have found in Soyo. I have captured Thrasops jacksoni before in Angola during 2009 in the Uige province which I posted here before. After getting hold of the snake it was clear that it had just consumed about 2 or 3 fledgling birds as evident by the bulge in it’s stomach. The snake was a female and measured SVL: 1370mm and TL: 1900mm.
The capture in a cashew tree
Even the ventrals of this species are totally black.
The fangs of Thrasops jacksoni are much smaller than that of the similar Dispholidus typus and less movable
The release
Hope you all enjoy.
Regards
Warren Klein
