While the Gaboon and Rhinoceros Viper are more rare, their close relative, the puff adder, is far more common.
Perhaps not as strikingly colored but beautiful none the less.
By Johannes van Rooyen - Public Domain, Link
Since these are far more widespread and common they are responsible for many more snakebites of general people in Africa.
The fact that they prefer to lie still and rely on their camouflage for defense is a major contributing factor.
Most of the time they will warn you if you approach to closely with a loud hiss or puffing sound... hence the name.
That is generally enough to keep both person and snake safe.
Most bites happen when the puff adder is accidentally stepped on by a person that has not seen the camouflaged snake and the snake has not had time to let out the warning hiss.
They are prolific rodent eaters and should be spared as much as possible.
If one considers the number of adult rats they eat per month and multiply that by the number of offspring those breeding rodents would produce in a year. One of these snakes effectively eliminates thousands of rats per year.
It is very shortsighted for farmers to kill these on sight.
In appearance they are quite different from the Gaboon viper...
