Episode 7: Black Mamba with Chris Williams

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INTRO (00:00)

*Intro Music – you and me the adventure, me and you to the zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello, and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast, where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting, and conserving.

I’m your host, Emily Bishop, and today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Zoological Manager Chris Williams to talk about the Black Mamba

Keep listening to learn how zookeepers examine a no-contact animal, if venomous snakes are really as dangerous as they’re made out to be, and to test your knowledge of famous snakes.

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INTERVIEW WITH ZOOLOGICAL MANAGER CHRIS WILLIAMS // LEARN ABOUT BLACK MAMBAS (00:43)

BISHOP: Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the ZooCast.

CHRIS WILLIAMS: Absolutely.

BISHOP: So if just to get started, you could give an introduction talk about who you are and what it is you do here at the Zoo.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, so my name is Chris Williams. I am the zoological manager of ectotherms here at the Zoo. I do a lot of work with the reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. I also help a lot with the day-to-day operations in the department.

BISHOP: Can you talk a bit about what is a zoological manager is?

WILLIAMS: Yeah, so I mean, I do some keeper work and I help fill in for the keepers when needed. I also kind of help fill in if they have questions or if they need help with anything throughout the day-to-day.

BISHOP: How did you first get started working with amphibians and reptiles?

WILLIAMS: Like a lot of people, I grew up catching lizards in the yard and I knew I wanted to work in zoos for quite a while. So yeah, I started volunteering at my local Zoo and eventually went off to school and got my degree and came back and just kept at it.

BISHOP: So, for listeners who maybe aren’t as in the know about snakes, what is the black mamba?

WILLIAMS: So, the black mamba is a venomous snake from Africa. They belong to the family Elapidae. Sometimes we refer to them as Elapids. They’re related to coral snakes and cobras and they’re a very toxic snake. They have both neurotoxic and cardiotoxic venom. So, you know, it affects the nervous system, it can affect the heart as well, causing paralysis or cardiac arrest.

BISHOP: Now, I know you said that they’re found in Africa. Are they found all over the continent? Or do they have a more narrowed scope?

WILLIAMS: Sub-Saharan Africa. So, you know, not the northern part of Africa, but kind of sporadically through the rest of the country. Mostly southern and eastern part of Africa, but there’s a couple of populations just around the country.

BISHOP: Yeah. Is there a specific, like, ecosystem that they’re found within?

WILLIAMS: They’re found in savannah or woodland areas, for the most part. They are both terrestrial and arboreal, so they live on the ground and up in the trees. They do tend to spend more time on the ground, but they can be both. A lot of times you can find them in like old tree holes or old termite mounds, places like that.

BISHOP: What niche are they fulfilling within their environment?

WILLIAMS: Mostly rodent control. You know, they feed on small mammals and birds. So, you know, like a lot of snakes. They kind of help keep those small mammal and bird numbers under control for the most part.

BISHOP: Yeah, so their diet consists of mostly small mammals like rodents, and then birds?

WILLIAMS: Right. Yeah. In the wild, small rodents, birds. Here at the Zoo, we feed frozen thawed rodents to all of our snakes. So that’s what they get here.

BISHOP: So, like you said, they’re venomous. So how do snakes produce venom?

WILLIAMS: They have a modified salivary gland. They produce different enzymes and proteins, and it’s stored right behind the eye, and then it’s injected through fangs. So different- different types of snakes have different types of fangs. So, it’s all delivered a little bit differently, but for the most part, it’s all kind of stored right behind the eye there.

BISHOP: What kind of fang does the black mamba have?

WILLIAMS: It’s a- like a front fang. So, they’re not very large compared to some by viperides and other snakes. But yeah, just front fangs right in the front that’s injected kind of like a, like a needle.

BISHOP: Yeah. So why do snakes produce venom? Sometimes not all of them are venomous,

WILLIAMS: You know, just defense really. Defense or, or, you know, for prey. So there’s constrictors which will, you know, constrict their prey and then there’s venomous snakes that will use venom as a form of, you know, to immobilize their prey.

BISHOP: So, what would you do if a venomous snake bites you?

WILLIAMS: So, here at the Zoo, we have a lot of venomous snakes. So, we are very cautious. We keep anti-venom, you know, the proper anti-venom for all of our snakes on hand, we keep a good relationship with, you know, the hospitals nearby. And we have all well-trained staff as well. So, we have alarm systems in the building, we, you know, go through drills and tabletop procedures and make sure that everyone’s comfortable with what to do if somebody were to get bit.

BISHOP: Yeah, venomous snakes, I feel like they kind of tend to get a bad rap. But are they really as big of a threat as they’re often made out to be?

WILLIAMS: Not really. They have an aggressive reputation. Generally, snakes are pretty shy and nervous animals. For the most part, if a snake can get away from you, it will much prefer that over attacking somebody, a snake is never going to come after somebody. Most snake bites either happen accidentally, if somebody were to accidentally step on a snake, or a lot of times, somebody’s trying to kill a snake, they’ll corner it and if a snake can’t get away, their last defense is to fight back an… and to bite.

BISHOP: They’re pretty much just going to act in defense, like they’re not going to…

WILLIAMS: Rights, a snake doesn’t want to bite anybody as a snake. They have so much venom they have to produce that venom themselves. So, they don’t want to use that if they don’t have to. A lot of times, you’ll never even know what snakes there because it’s gonna get out of the way before you even come across it. So, you know, like I said, a lot of times as a snake bite is from somebody provoking the snake to the point where they feel the need to defend itself.

BISHOP: So, can you talk about the black mamba that we have here at SCZ?

WILLIAMS: Yeah, so we have one, one mamba- or one black mamba here. It’s a female. She’s been here since I believe 2010. We think she’s about 17 years old, we’re not really sure it’s more of an estimate. That’s pretty geriatric for, for a snake for… for- for a black mamba at least. So, she doesn’t show any signs of it. She’s very spunky, she’s very active. But we do monitor that. We- she is a, like I said, a very dangerous snake. So, we actually- she’s one of our few snakes that is a no-contact animal.

So, we actually use shift boxes for her. So that allows us to shift her into a separate enclosure to where we can safely work the exhibit. And we’re not actually in direct contact with her. The shift box does allow us to get routine weights we can we’ve modified the box to where we can get her in a tube if we need to, you know, get hands on her and get bloodwork or get a closer visual on her, so allows us to keep a high level of- of care for her even while keeping minimal contact with her.

BISHOP: So, is the shift box just like, a box that she goes into when you need to do stuff?

WILLIAMS: Yeah, it’s, it’s a box that’s connected to her exhibit. So, there’s a couple like, guillotine doors that keep it separated. So, she stays on exhibit when we want her on exhibit. And then we feed her in the shift box. So, she associates that with food. And so, when we open those guillotine doors, she can come right in and then we can, like I said, attach a tube to it and she’ll go up in the tube and then we can get hands on her and do any visual inspections that we need to do.

BISHOP: Now you said she’s kind of geriatric, does she get any special care because of her age?

WILLIAMS: Not right now. Like I said, we monitor it. I say she’s geriatric just because of records. Records show they usually live between 12 and 20 years. People don’t really know exactly. So, kind of call her that based on the age, not how she acts. She- if you were to look at her she acts like any other snake. You’d never know that she’s around 17 years old at all.

BISHOP: Yeah, she’s young at heart.

WILLIAMS: She sure is.

BISHOP: So, she does not have a name.

WILLIAMS: She doesn’t. Yeah, unfortunately, we have a lot of animals in our department so we don’t name a lot of… a lot of our animals. We do we do name some of our crocodilians, or giant tortoises, but most of our snakes don’t have names, unfortunately.

BISHOP: Well, she’s the only one so…

WILLIAMS: Right.

BISHOP: She’s easy to identify. But she’s still- still spunky. Like you said, even though she doesn’t have a name.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, absolutely.  

BISHOP: Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about that about her personality?

WILLIAMS:  Yeah, she’s very smart, very agile. These snakes are very fast in the wild, they can move probably 10 to 12 miles per hour. So very fast, very agile. So… So that’s one reason that we use a no-contact method with her just for- for staff safety but she’s very smart, very cooperative. Like I said she knows she gets fed in the shift box so she especially towards feeding time she’ll sit at the box and be ready to go in. So, she’s really good snake, she cooperates really well, and makes it easy for- for the staff.

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LEARN ABOUT WILD LIGHTS (10:26)

BISHOP: We’ll be back in a moment to learn more about the black mamba. But first let’s hear about upcoming events at the Zoo.

Follow the white rabbit to a land of wonder at this year’s Wild Lights.

Come face-to-face with One-of-a-kind Asian Lantern Sculptures. Maybe a Cheshire cat will cross your path, or the queen’s guard of playing cards. Be the guest of honor at a tea party hosted by a hatter and a hare.

Wednesday through Sunday, October 11 through December 17 from 6pm to 9pm.

Tickets start at $15 and are available online or in person.

Journey through the looking glass at Wild Lights.

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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF FAMOUS SNAKES // SSSSCELEBRITY SSSSSNAKE (11:16)

BISHOP: So, we will return to talking about the black mamba. But first we’re going to take a little break to play a game. And the game is called

*drumroll*

Sssssscelebrity Ssssssnake.

*rim shot*

It’s got those sibilant sounds.

So, the rules of the game are simple. I’m going to give you a description of a character who is a snake or is snake like and you’re going to tell me their name.

WILLIAMS: Oh gosh.

BISHOP: Listeners at home can play along as well. And there are five snakes to name. So, you just have to get three right to win the game.

WILLIAMS: We’ll see. We’ll see what I can do.

BISHOP: Yeah, I’ll even let you choose. I can either give you like the piece of media. And then you can name the snake or I can give you the snake’s name. And you have to say like what the snake is from.

WILLIAMS: Dealer’s choice.

BISHOP: Oh gosh. I think it’s a little easier if I- if you have to name what the snake is from.

WILLIAMS: Sounds good to me.

BISHOP: Okay. All right. So, question one.

Kaa the python hypnotizes protagonist Mowgli in this Rudyard Kipling novel.

WILLIAMS: I this “The Jungle Book.”

BISHOP: You got it. It’s the Jungle Book. You got one down.

Okay, so question two.

Introduced in the fourth entry of this series, Nagini is later revealed to be a horcrux of series antagonist Voldemort.

WILLIAMS: Oh, that’s “Harry Potter.”

BISHOP: “Harry Potter. Do you- Can you name which one? The fourth one?

WILILAMS: Oh, “Order of the Phoenix.”

BISHOP: No, you’re off by one. That’s okay. It’s “Goblet of Fire.”

WILLIAMS: Oh. Okay.

BISHOP: But I’m gonna give you points for “Harry Potter” because that’s all I was looking for.

Okay, question three.

From the Kanto region, Ekans is a poison type that evolves into Arbok starting at level 22.

WILLIAMS: “Pokemon”

BISHOP: You got it. “Pokemon “

Three. So- see, you’ve already you’ve already won. Last two questions are just- just bonus to make you the champion of snakes I guess.

Question four.

Voiced by Lucy Liu, Viper is a member of the Furious Five and was born without fangs.

WILLIAMS: Oh, gosh, I have no idea.

BISHOP: I’ll give you a hint. Jack Black is also in these movies.

WILLIAMS: Oh, “Pirates of the Caribbean?”

BISHOP: No.

WILLIAMS: Oh- Jack Black. My gosh.

BISHOP: You’re good. You’re good. You can guess again. They’re animated.

WILLIAMS: I don’t know. It’s stumpomg me.

BISHOP: It’s “Kung Fu Panda.”

WILLIAMS: I’ve never seen that.

BISHOP: Really? I think I’ve only seen the first one. So, I can’t I can’t judge.

And our final question. Question five.

Jafar turns into a giant snake after wishing for the Genie to make him the most powerful sorcerer in this 1992 Disney movie.

WILLIAMS: Is that “Aladdin”

BISHOP: It is “aladin”

WILLIAMS: Awesome.

BISHOP: You got it. Four out of five. You know that’s most of them. So, you win the game.

WILLIAMS: Okay

BISHOP: You’re the snake champion.

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LEARN ABOUT ZOO MEMBERSHIP (14:06)

Before Chris and I finish our conversation about the Black Mamba, let’s hear about how you can experience more perks when you visit the Zoo

Where can you find lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! At the Sedgwick County Zoo, of course! Feed a giraffe, ride a train, and learn all about your favorite animal.

And Zoo members get to experience even more fun. For as low as $80 per person, you get to experience unlimited visits to the zoo, early entry, discounts on special events, and early access to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

Become a member today! Visit scz.org/membership for more information.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS ON THE BLACK MAMBA (14:51)

BISHOP: As an ending note, I just have a few more questions. I was wondering what question do you get asked the most by the guests about the black mamba?

WILLIAMS: Pretty typical question we get is when we’re going to feed. Everybody wants to see the snake seed, we feed most of our snakes every other week. So, it’s really easy to overfeed snakes. They’re opportunistic, they’re going to eat a lot. So, we keep a pretty strict schedule with them on how often we feed them.

BISHOP: Yeah, well, and she goes into that shift box feed so even… Can you even see her when she’s feeding on exhibit?

WILLIAMS: So, we feed her in the shift box. So, the shift box is- it’s like a plastic box with a clear lid on it so we can see her eating in there. We’ll shift their off and let her eat while we service the exhibit. And then we’ll shift her back on and sometimes we’ll have the service see exhibit, you know, even on non-feed days, but since she eats in the… in the shift box, she associates with it. So, she shifts off pretty well.

BISHOP: Yeah, well, but like, a guest wouldn’t even be able to see her feed

WILLIAMS: Right

BISHOP: Because she’s in the box

WILLIAMS: She unfortunately- unfortunately, she’s one of the few snakes that people won’t get to see her actually eat.

BISHOP: Yeah. So, what is your favorite thing about the black mamba?

WILLIAMS:  Probably just- just the coloration, the size, the intelligence of them, you know, they… they have the name black mamba, but they aren’t really all that black. They’re more of a grayish brownish color, the black in the name actually comes from the mouth. So, when they’re threatened, they’ll open their mouth. And it’s pretty much a jet-black mouth that they use that as like a like a warning to predators. And the size, I mean, they- they get eight feet, maybe a little bit bigger, 10 feet. It’s really big snake for being able to move that fast and have that agility. It’s really interesting.

BISHOP: So, what is your favorite thing about getting to work with these snakes?

WILLIAMS: Just her intelligence. It’s, it’s pretty interesting to get to work with a snake that is smart enough to be able to shift on and off and, you know, a lot of snakes will just kind of sit there and they don’t really have the, the activity level or the intelligence that she does to, you know, she knows when that guillotine door opens for the shift box she knows to shift off. And then she knows you know, when it opens back up, she’ll shift back on and she’s really interesting working with you know, a lot of people don’t think snakes are very intelligent, but they’re- they’re a lot more intelligent than people give them credit for.

BISHOP: Yeah, I’ve noticed a lot, like I’ll be walking through amphibian and reptiles, where our black mamba lives, and she’ll be like moving around and climbing all over the place. So, she’s- she’s super active all the time.

WILLIAMS: Yep, definitely. Yeah, they’re- they’re a diurnal species, which means they’re- they’re active during the day. So, they’re always kind of cruising around throughout the day. And like I said, they live up in the trees and on the ground, so they’re constantly, you know, moving both arboreal, and terrestrial all around.

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OUTRO (18:01)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

This episode was researched, written, and produced by me- Emily Bishop

We’d like to give a special thank you to Chris Williams, for sitting down and talking with us about the black mamba

Thank you to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s Marketing and Communication Team

And a special thank you to our Zoo Members, whose support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership

Be sure to give us a follow so you never miss when we upload new episodes.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, I’m Emily Bishop and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.