Boaedon capensis
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Boaedon capensis, the Cape house snake, also known as the brown house snake, is a species of lamprophiid from Botswana, South Africa (from KwaZulu-Natal all the way through to the Western Cape), Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are a non-venomous lamprophiid. This species was previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but is regrouped with the genus Boaedon.
Cape house snakes are usually dark brown on top, but the colour varies greatly from almost black through brown to olive green. The stripes that stretch from the rostral scale through the eye to the back of the head are very strong, thick, and bold. This species may have a lateral stripe running down the flanks, often resembling the links of a chain. They also sometimes have lateral stripes running along either side of the spine. Linking lines between the lateral striping is not uncommon. These body markings tend to be a paler brown/cream in colour on top of the often dark, chocolate-brown base tones. These markings normally fade two-thirds of the way down the body until only the base colour remains, but there are exceptions to the rule. Individuals without pattern are often found in the wild. These individuals... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Garden of South Africa | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Little Rock Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Tierpark Gettorf | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown House Snake sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 27th most-seen of the 35 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–May, July–August and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown House Snake in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in June, September–October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown House Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
6th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Brown House Snake sightings, Cape Town ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Lusaka (Zambia, about 30%), Harare (Zimbabwe, about 20%) and Pretoria (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Lamprophiidae
The closest relatives of the Brown House Snake that you can see in Cape Town (family Lamprophiidae, Lamprophiid Snakes) are Common Brown Water Snake (about 20%) and Aurora House Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown House Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Cape Town (23 verified sightings), 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.
