“Most Deadly Snake”: Sounds of a Black Mamba Caught on Camera by KwaZulu-Natal Photographer

• A KwaZulu-Natal nature photographer showed how a black mamba makes sounds, leaving many people online unsettled
• The black mamba is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in the world, and the sound it makes is just as scary
• South Africans in the comments could not agree on what they were hearing, with some questioning the snake's identity

KwaZulu-Natal nature photographer Miguel shared a video on his Facebook page @miguel.dafomseca on 16 February 2026, capturing something that left many people unsettled. He filmed a black mamba in a grassy, rocky area, getting his camera close enough to capture the snake's head before panning down to show its coiled body. He asked:

"Have you ever heard this? Listen properly 👀. ft. a Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)."

What caught everyone off guard was the sound. The snake did not hiss the way most people would expect. It did not open its mouth at all. Instead, it made a deep, heavy breathing sound. It was eerie and unsettling in a way that was hard to explain.

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What makes the black mamba so feared?

The black mamba is one of the world's deadliest snakes. According to National Geographic, it is one of the fastest snakes on the planet. It gets its name not from the blue-black colour inside its mouth, which it shows when it feels threatened or scared.

Despite its scary reputation, the black mamba is actually shy by nature and will usually try to escape rather than confront you. But when it feels cornered, it raises its head, spreads its neck and strikes repeatedly. It injects large amounts of venom with each bite. Before antivenom was developed, a bite was almost always fatal.

Watch the Facebook clip below:

South Africans spooked by black mamba sounds

People had a lot to say after watching the clip that Facebook user @miguel.dafomseca shared:

@Sarb Enu Mamar said:

"This is boomslang, not a black mamba."

@Coillard Maambo asked:

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"How does it even make that sound with a closed mouth?"

@Nkosiyezwe Vezi wrote:

"More deadly than a bullet 😭"

@Sbu Sbu shared:

"That's a fully grown mamba, check the curved back spinal backbone. I know this one, back home sometimes you hear funny sounds in the middle of a jungle."

@Lazola Solani added:

"The most dangerous snake in Africa."

@Kgathalo Ephraim Komape suggested:

"A bucket 🪣 full of hot boiling water will do the work."

@Thika Breaking News TV warned:

"This can bite, crush and swallow as if nothing has happened. A very dangerous viper 😮"

More wild snakes making headlines

• Briefly News reported on farmworkers near Sannieshof who found a rattlesnake on their property, and what the snake expert said about where it came from surprised everyone.
• A KZN woman spotted a snake unlike anything people had seen before, and the photos left South Africans both stunned and highly amused.
• A five-metre snake appeared in flooded streets in Bali, and the footage of what it did next had people completely lost for words.

Source: Briefly News