Central African rock python

Identification

The Central African rock python is a very large, stout snake with smooth scales and vertical, cat-like pupils³. It is tan-brown or brownish-grey, with irregular dark blotches down the back that are edged in black and white, smaller dark marks on the sides, and a pale belly with dark mottling³. The top of the head is dark, with a pale stripe on each side running through the eye to the nose, forming a dark spearhead shape, and a second pale stripe from the corner of the mouth to the eye³. Deep heat-sensing pits line the upper lip³.

Most adults are 3–5 m long³. It is Africa’s largest snake, and the Reptile Database gives a maximum length of 7.6 m¹; a 7.5 m snake has been recorded from Côte d’Ivoire⁴.

Distribution

The southern African rock python, once a subspecies of this snake, was raised to a full species, Python natalensis, by Broadley in 1999¹. As now defined, P. sebae lives from Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania east through West and Central Africa to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, and south to Gabon, the Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania¹. Python natalensis replaces it from southern Angola, Zambia, Malawi and central Kenya south to South Africa², and the two meet in parts of Kenya and northern Tanzania⁴.

This python has been introduced to Florida, where a small breeding population has probably lived in western Miami-Dade County since the early 2000s^1,3.

Habitat

African rock pythons favour forest and moist, open savanna, often near rocky outcrops or in mammal burrows⁴. They are closely tied to water and are often found near rivers and lakes⁴. They have been recorded up to 2,300 m above sea level, although most live much lower⁴. In Florida, they have been found in sawgrass prairie, farmland, canals, lakes and housing developments³.

Behaviour

Adult rock pythons are mainly active at night, but they may bask by day; juveniles are most active at dawn and dusk⁴. They live mostly on the ground but can climb, and they swim well and can stay under water for a long time⁴.

Rock pythons usually stay hidden in dense vegetation³. If cornered they strike quickly, and if grabbed they bite, hold on and constrict³. They are not aggressive and strike only in defence, although they are more ready to bite than Burmese pythons³.

Diet

Young rock pythons eat small mammals, especially rats⁴. Adults take larger prey, including monkeys, antelope, large lizards and even crocodiles, and sometimes fish; a large adult can kill an antelope of up to 59 kg⁴. The python strikes, coils around its prey and squeezes until it suffocates or its heart fails⁴.

Near people, rock pythons sometimes eat dogs, goats, poultry and other livestock⁴, and WHO advises protecting goats, sheep, domestic fowl and pets from pythons⁶. A captive rock python reportedly went without food for more than two and a half years⁴.

Reproduction

The Central African rock python lays eggs¹. In Florida, females have laid 11–47 eggs, and up to 100 have been recorded in the native range³. The female coils around her eggs and does not eat until they hatch³. The young are 45–61 cm long when they hatch³.

Venom and medical significance

The Central African rock python has no venom³. It bites to defend itself; small individuals are not generally dangerous, but large ones have big, sharp teeth that can cause severe cuts³. Virtually all bites happen when people deliberately disturb the snake³. Attacks on people are rare, although African rock pythons have occasionally constricted and killed people⁴. Large rock pythons can also eat dogs and cats³.

Conservation

The Central African rock python is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (assessed in 2021)⁵. It is hunted for its meat and skin, and larger individuals have become rare in many areas⁴. In West Africa, large snakes such as pythons are often eaten as a delicacy and used in rituals⁶. The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES, which regulates international trade⁴.

Similar species

Young rock pythons can be mistaken for the smaller ball python (Python regius), which shares much of its range in West and Central Africa. The ball python rarely grows longer than about 1.5 m and has large brown blotches with lighter patches and often a yellowish stripe through the eye⁷. The rock python has a dark spearhead mark on its head and irregular blotches edged in black and white³.

Where its range meets that of the southern African rock python (P. natalensis), the two can be told apart by the side of the head: P. sebae shows a pale yellowish stripe at eye level, while P. natalensis has a narrower, paler dark patch around the eye, is drabber overall and has smaller head scales². These differences are not a safe basis for handling any snake. Keep your distance from every snake you cannot identify.

In captivity

The Central African rock python grows very large and strong, and it is generally a poor choice as a pet: wild-caught snakes rarely settle in captivity⁴. It can live up to 30 years in captivity⁴. In the United States it was listed as an injurious species in 2012, which bans imports except for zoos, education, medicine or science with a permit³.