Philothamnus semivariegatus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Philothamnus semivariegatus, commonly known as the spotted bush snake is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake, endemic to Africa. P. semivariegatus is distributed from South Africa northward to Sudan, Uganda and from Guinea eastward to Tanzania and sighted in Nigeria.
The colour is bright green with black speckles. Average snout to vent length (SVL) is 60–90 cm (24–35 in). Spotted bush snakes are mostly found in trees in bush and forest areas, where they hunt lizards and treefrogs. They are also known to devour chameleons and dwarfs. They are excellent climbers and swimmers, have very good eyesight, and are highly alert snakes. They are not territorial, and will roam great distances in search for food. Spotted bush snakes are very common and completely harmless. They are well camouflaged, naturally very nervous, and quick to escape from any potential threat. As such, suburban sightings are rare.
They can be very difficult to keep in captivity, being very nervous and reluctant to feed on anything but sympatric gecko species, but they are occasionally kept and bred successfully. Females can... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Bush Snake sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 74 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 62 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Bush Snake in Kruger National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February to October, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Bush Snake sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Spotted Bush Snake sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%), South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 30%) and uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Bush Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kruger National Park (74 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.
