{"id":9526,"date":"2025-09-11T13:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/9526\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T13:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:06:09","slug":"it-is-a-strong-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/9526\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It is a strong sign’"},"content":{"rendered":"

For much of the 20th century, coal miners used to use canaries as an early warning device against harmful pollutants. Now, scientists may have found a similar use for the world’s deadliest snake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to an article by the University of the Witwatersrand<\/a> in Johannesburg, South Africa, new research has shown that the black mamba could play a pivotal role in monitoring pollution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A study on captured snakes in Durban, South Africa, revealed that the snake’s scales can provide a great deal of information about pollution in the area. If the rodents and birds that the black mamba preys upon have been exposed to toxic heavy metals<\/a>, they will ultimately accumulate on the snake’s scales.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professor Graham Alexander, a herpetologist at Wits, explained, “If the body tissue of individuals contain high levels of heavy metals, it is a strong sign that the local environment is under threat.”<\/p>\n

Rising global temperatures are forcing some venomous snakes<\/a> out of their historic ranges. In Durban, carelessly discarded rubbish is attracting rodents, which in turn is luring the black mambas into populated areas.<\/p>\n

Despite its name, the black mamba is brown or grey in color; “black” refers to the inside of its mouth, which it displays when threatened.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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Should you ever gaze into that blue-black void, it’s a good idea to skedaddle because its venom can kill a human within 20 minutes. You’d better be quick, too, because the black mamba is also one of the fastest snakes in the world, capable of reaching a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour<\/a>, according to National Geographic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, black mambas are often misunderstood. If left alone, they play a crucial ecological role as a highly efficient pest control agent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They tend to be homebodies and will live out their lives in the same refuge sites, which makes them an excellent barometer of an ecosystem’s health and a guide for appropriate local action<\/a>. The study’s authors called for raising awareness<\/a> to change the public perception of black mambas from one of fear to one of appreciation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the study’s co-authors, Professor Mark Humphries, explained the exciting potential of the study: “It’s safe for the snake and could be used in cities across Africa where snakes are already being relocated from homes and businesses.”<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\"Cool<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For much of the 20th century, coal miners used to use canaries as an early warning device against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[114,10460,10461,2607,85,46,1115,1116,141,386,10462],"class_list":{"0":"post-9526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-climate-hero","10":"tag-hero-animal-champion","11":"tag-home","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-outdoors","15":"tag-plastic","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-wildlife","18":"tag-yahoo-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}