Atheris nitschei
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Common names: Great Lakes bush viper, Nitsche's bush viper, more. Atheris nitschei is a species of venomous snake, a viper in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to Africa. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.
The former subspecies Atheris nitschei rungweensis from southwestern Tanzania, northeastern Zambia and northern Malawi was elevated to species rank as Atheris rungweensis. The specific name, nitschei, is in honor of German zoologist Hinrich Nitsche (1845–1902).
Atheris nitschei is a relatively large and stout bush viper, growing to an average total length (tail included) of 60 cm (24 in) and a maximum total length of at least 80 cm (31 in). The males are smaller than the females.
Common names for Atheris nitschei include Great Lakes bush viper, Nitsche's bush viper, black and green bush viper, Nitsche's tree viper. sedge viper, green viper, bush viper. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great Lakes Bush Viper sighting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 6 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Great Lakes Bush Viper in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, August–September and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's wettest months, with about 320 mm of rain against 65 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Lakes Bush Viper sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Great Lakes Bush Viper sightings, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Lakes Bush Viper is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
