Bitis gabonica
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica), also called the Gaboon adder, is a large and highly venomous species of viper found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest member of the genus Bitis. Like all other vipers, it is venomous, and it has the longest fangs of any venomous snake – up to 2 inches (5.1 cm) in length – and the highest venom yield of any snake. No subspecies are recognized.
The Gaboon viper was described in 1854 as Echidna gabonica. According to their research, these two subspecies are as genetically different from each other as they are from B. nasicornis. Consequently, they regard the western form as a separate species, B. rhinoceros.
The snake's common names include Gaboon viper, butterfly adder, forest puff adder, whisper, swampjack, and Gaboon adder. Originally a name given by the Portuguese, Gabon (Gabão) refers to the estuary on which the town of Libreville was built, in Gabon, and to a narrow strip of territory on either bank of this arm of the sea. As of 1909, Gaboon referred... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gaboon Adder sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 43 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gaboon Adder in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June and August–December, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gaboon Adder sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in our data
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Gaboon Adder sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gaboon Adder is recorded against all the reptiles logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (7 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.
