• unmoving unless provoked — but if you step on it or get too close, it strikes with deadly precision
• Diet: Eats small mammals and birds, and can even swallow a hedgehog or small antelope whole

Despite its terrifying potential, the Gaboon viper is rarely aggressive toward humans. Most bites happen purely by accident — and when they do, the consequences are severe. Without immediate antivenom, survival is unlikely.

So when I say that morning could have been my last… I’m not being dramatic. It was a real brush with death — and I’ll never forget how close it came.