A new snake has been discovered in Tanzania. Not only is it deadly, it is also beautiful. The snake is called the Matilda's Horned Viper and is named after a 7-year old girl.
With it's yellow and black scales and it's menacing horns, you would think people would want to stay away from this dangerous reptile. On the contrary, it's location is being kept secret to deter poaching which could wipe out the small population.
Although it's exact location is a mystery, the Matilda's Horned Viper was found in a tiny area of southwest Tanzania about two years ago. As a result of this new finding, Zootaxa, a mega-journal for zoological taxonomists, deemed the Matilda's Horned Viper the world's newest species of snake discovered to date.
The director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania, Tim Davenport, was lucky enough to be on the team that discovered the rare viper species. His involvement gave him the opportunity to name the new viper species after his very own daughter, Matilda. Who's name will live on forever thanks to her father's naming the snake.
In a recent interview with Associated Press, Davenport says, "My daughter, who was five at the time, became fascinated by it and used to love spending time watching it and helping us look after it. We called it Matilda's Viper at that stage... and then the name stuck."
The rarity of finding a new species of viper is great. Within the last three decades, there have only been three new vipers discovered across Africa. That equals to one viper every decade. This means that finding Matilda's viper was an extremely rare and important occasion. Due to it's rarity and it's small population, the viper's exact location is being held secret because of Africa's serious poacher and trophy hunter epidemic.
Due to the Matilda Viper's remote location and it's harsh environment, Davenport says it is extremely difficult to conduct accurate snake counts. However, twelve have been brought into captivity to be a part of the Matilda Viper's breeding program which insures the viper will not become extinct despite it's home being decimated by logging and the threat of poachers coming in to steal the snakes.
Davenport hails from Britain but has lived in Tanzania for 12 years. He said that many people fear snakes but most are harmless and help keep rodent numbers down. Human have many reasons to fear snakes whether their sheer size is intimidating as with Anacondas and Boa Constrictors or they fear the chance of being bitten by a venomous snake as with any viper. In the case of the Matilda's horned viper, it is small and can grow to two feet (65 centimeters) or bigger, they said.
Via web chat with Associated Press, Davenport says, "This particular animal looks fierce and probably is venomous (though bush viper bites are not deadly), However, it is actually a calm animal and not at all aggressive. I have handled one on several occasions."
Davenport mentioned that since The Wildlife Conservation Society is in charge of the Central Park Zoo and the Bronx Zoo in New York, it would be a "great option" to showcase the new horned viper at any of those locations, but that nothing has yet been decided.
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