Boiga melanota
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Boiga melanota, the western mangrove cat snake, is one of the biggest cat snake species in Asia. It is found in Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia (Sumatra). It is shiny bluish black in colour, marked with 40-50 yellow stripes. The mouth and throat area are yellow, whereas the ventral part of the body is yellowish black. The eyes are greyish in colour. It is categorised as a mildly venomous snake.
An adult mangrove snake can reach a length of 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in). It is active at night (nocturnal) and hunts for birds, rats and birds eggs as its main diet. Its large head and mouth enables it to swallows its prey easily.
Recently reclassed from within the Dendrophila family, they share some physical traits such as similar colouring and being rear-fanged. Species Boiga melanota at The Reptile Database Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | National Zoological Garden of South Africa | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Night Safari | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 6 | National Zoo of Malaysia | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 8 | John Ball Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | River Wonders | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 10 | Farm in the City | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Siam Serpentarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Entopia | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 13 | Snake Farm of Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 14 | Blue Planet Aquarium | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 15 | Terrariet | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 16 | Dolphins Bay Phuket | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Mangrove Cat Snake sighting in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 47 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Western Mangrove Cat Snake in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Mangrove Cat Snake 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 Western Mangrove Cat Snake sightings, Gunung Leuser National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Khao Sok National Park (Thailand, about 50%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Mangrove Cat Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Gunung Leuser National Park (14 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.
