Are there snakes in the sahara desert

The flora of the Sahara is estimated to include about 1, species, consisting mainly of xerophytes and ephemeral plants, with halophytes in moister areas, and Acacia, Tamarisk and Calotropis procera along the wadis. However, according to another scientific study, the Sahara's flora still includes about species. The fauna of the Sahara includes about 70 species of mammals, species of birds, including 90 species of resident birds, and around species of reptiles. Owing to extreme heat, most small desert creatures are nocturnal.

The populations of these species were greatly reduced by over-hunting and many are now endangered species, like the ostrich, addax, some species of gazelles and the cheetah. Most of the African large mammals that were reported to have been present in the desert until the second half of the 19th century have now become extinct. Some of these animals can be seen in Fezzan Park, and also in Tripoli's zoo. The Sahara is also rich in oil and metallic, mineral deposits, the most common of which is iron ore found in large quantities in Algeria and Mauritania , followed by copper, manganese, phosphates, and uranium with large deposits in Niger.

Desert roses grow in size just like plants and animals do. The leaf-like structure of its crystals makes the stone look like a rose flower and hence its name. This leafy structure is slowly built using the mineral gypsum which grows in the tiny gaps between the specks of sand. A handful of sand would appear compact to the naked eye, but under the microscope one can easily see more cavities than sand.

As it grows in these cavities the gypsum seals the surrounding sand particles in leaf-like flakes. These flakes then grow with time just like plant leaves do, and develop complex forms see above. This type of desert rose is found after Tmessah and before reaching Waw Alkabeer, Fezzan, southern Libya.

Most of the Sahara's oases are situated in depressions and sustained by underground basins and rivers. For plants to survive in the desert, they must invent ingenious ways to deal with lack of water. Some species germinate within 72 hours of rainfall and sow their seeds 2 weeks later. Shrubs and trees have extensive root systems which can penetrate as far as 50 metres into the ground; tamarisk and acacia have short, fat trunks that act as reservoirs for excess water.

The seeds of ephemerals germinate only after heavy rain, and then very quickly consume their entire life-cycle; producing brightly coloured flowers to attract insects. Grasses develop large and complex root systems for collecting water over a wide area, enabling them to survive when the overground parts are scorched to death.

Geophytes survive by remaining underground as bulbs, and like ephemerals, they quickly grow and develop when rain comes. Saharan succulents, like euphorbia, suck the extra water to store for later. Some insects collect moisture from the air and then direct it as droplets of water into their mouths. While desert-ships the camels vary their bodies' temperature according to the conditions: low when it is cool and high when hot; when they are thirsty transpiration drops to zero.

Humans, however , resort to nomadic way of life in order to survive in the Sahara, travelling from one location to another in search of water and vegetation. In short, life has a mind of its own, long before it created ours! The only permanently inhabited zones in the Sahara are the oases and areas along the few fertile valleys, such as Wadi Alhayat the Valley of Life in Fezzan.

The palm trees in these regions, which are normally arranged in narrow rows with an east-west orientation in line with the apparent sun's course across the sky , occur where water is relatively close to the surface, and thus allowing the digging of shallow wells to support settled life.

Rain in the Sahara falls at rare intervals, mostly between the months of January and April, with a variation from 0. Its wood is light, and thus used to light fire by rubbing it against hard wood to generate heat and then sparks , and also used for roofing material for small huts. According to Sahara-Nature one should not touch the plant, as the latex the milky sap produced is very irritant, especially to the eyes: can become blind. Desert Camels: Camels are nearly 50 million years old; and, like horses, were as big as domesticated cats, living in North America's forests.

By 12 million years ago, several types of camels evolved, including the one-meter-tall Procamelus of the Camelus genus, from which modern camels descended. The Camelus crossed North America to Asia, some 3 million years ago, and then reached Africa rather recently between 4 and 3 thousand years ago. On average camels can travel the hot Sahara for two weeks without drinking water, slowly loosing weight; and when water is found, their large stomachs can carry as much as litres of water.

Camels do not carry water in their humps, which are mainly fat. The ship of the desert : the camel. There are about 95 species of reptiles in the Sahara, consisting mainly of three types: lizards, snakes and tortoises. Although most of them are small creatures, the desert monitor lizard can reach up to 1. Unlike other vertebrates reptiles are cold-blooded and therefore are unable to produce their own heat. They live on insects and small mammals, and their thick skin helps them minimises water loss.

There are about species of snakes in Africa today, 90 of which are venomous. According to classical Greek sources the Sahara was infested with serpents, mythical and real, like those of the Libyan Gorgon Medusa. Libyan traditions state that snakes are harmless if they are left alone. For some reason, probably to do with the low temperature, snakes are completely timid and harmless between the months of October and February.

The photo shows a sand viper about fifty centimetres long , which has a pair of horns just above the eyes. The "trouble" with the sand viper is that it is usually buried just under the surface of the sand, which means good desert boots are essential. The ancient Garamantes of Fezzan carried Libyan Neith's tattoos on their legs, just above the ankle, properly to protect from snake bites, which can be a bit painful, but rarely fatal. However, be reminded that when travelling in the desert it is best to always wear thick leather boots and avoid disturbing stones and small rocks.

If you have to turn some stones, like when camping, then beware of scorpions and serpents and never do it at night. Camping preparations should always be undertaken in full day light. If you see snakes "sneaking" about, then learn to live with them, leave them alone, keep a safe distance from them, and remember to never corner a snake or a cobra as they might attack before you get a chance to react.

Respect nature if you seek the same respect for yourself! Although venomous snakes inject poison, pythons "end the life" of their prey by constriction: they coil their bodies around their prey, slowly suffocating them to death. At up to twenty five feet long the reticulated python: Python reticulatus , you are not left with much choice but to avoid them in the first place.

Always keep a safe distance, as they can leash out to half their bodies' length in an instant. However, the African Ball python Python regius rarely gets bigger than six feet long, and is very well tamed and popular pet. If you have been bitten and cannot get medical care within half an hour, then the Red Cross recommends the traditional technique of washing the affected area with soap and water and then applying a bandage, about three inches above the wound, but not very tight. However lack of washing has its benefits too see below.

Also try to keep the affected area below the heart level to slow down the flow of venom. Traditionally one would make a small cut and squeeze as much blood out of the wound as possible, but nowadays academic experts advise against making any cuts to prevent the risk of infection or the risk of cutting sensitive tissues.

Instead they recommend a suction device a kit, see below which can be used to draw the venom without making a cut. We have included these kits among the things you should take with you to Libya in our travel guide to Libya. Polluting local water resources must be avoided at all times. Snakes can bite but they do not have to deliver or waste precious venom on a creature that is too big to eat.

You might get bitten but it does not mean you were poisoned, and so the importance of staying clam and never to panic. However, always seek medical help even if you do not get any symptoms. Insects are very numerous in the Sahara, especially scorpions, termites, ants, sacred scarab beetles, intelligent spiders, and the most devastating of all: locusts, which can cover massive areas very quickly and consume entire fields in a matter of minutes.

Most desert insects are nocturnal and the secret of their survival is their hard, crusty and waxy skin which minimises water loss, in addition to hiding under rocks like scorpions and under the sand like centipedes. The common scorpion in the Sahara is the Leiurus quinquestriatus the deathstalker , which although can be fatal to a child, an elderly or a weak person, it rarely causes serious harm to a healthy adult.

By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use. Desert Horned Viper The most common venomous snakes in the Sahara -- and the only ones likely to be encountered in the sand dunes -- are desert horned vipers Cerastes cerastes. Saw Scaled Vipers Eleven species of carpet, or saw-scaled viper comprise the genus Echis and resemble each other in terms of behavior and ecology.

Nubian Spitting Cobras Nubian cobras Naja nubiae are medium-sized cobras that frequent portions of the Sahara. Lesser Known Species Numerous other venomous snakes inhabit the Sahara, but most are not as dangerous as the vipers and cobras of the region.

Digital Vision. See More Animals Snakes in Mongolia. What types of snakes live in the desert? Though multiple subspecies of gopher snakes are found here, there are no bullsnakes in Arizona.

Still, people often mistake other snakes, like the Great Basin gopher snake, for a bullsnake. Being primarily a desert habitat, there are not many water snakes found in Arizona. For the rest of the America, the zone with the highest number of snake species is the Amazon. Most common snakes in America include both dangerous and friendly species to humans, and if you are curious to find out which are generally the most dangerous check them on our list of 20 most deadliest snakes in the world.

The western diamondback rattlesnake is the largest species found in Arizona and the second largest venomous snake in the US. Some adult Arizona black rattlesnakes show an interesting trait of changing their coloration fairly quickly, like chameleons and certain other snakes.