| 1 | African bush viper |
Maximum length: 73.5cm.
The hairy bush viper (Atheris hispida) is one of the most popular entrants on “weird-looking snakes” lists on the internet, due to its savagely keeled, pineapple-like scales. Yet this this is a very difficult snake to photograph, for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, hairy bush vipers have incredible camouflage, as their green scales blend perfectly with Central African jungles. Secondly, hairy bush vipers aren’t especially common, appearing mainly in Uganda, as well as far eastern DRC, western Kenya, and a tiny pocket in Tanzania.
Hairy bush vipers also live in some of worst habitats for taking photographs – inhospitable African rainforests. Anyone can snap a photo of a Mozambique spitting cobra from their car in a dry savannah, but venturing into a jungle, machete in hand, is an entirely different proposition.
Hairy bush vipers are highly likely to strike your chest, arms and shoulders, as they prefer tree branches 1-2 metres high. You might start the day hoping for the perfect photo, and end it hoping to survive. The venom of this species is poorly researched, but said to be unusually neurotoxic for a viper.
| 2 | Amazon coral snake |
Maximum length: 160.2cm.
One of South America’s most widespread coral snakes, ranging from Ecuador in the north to Bolivia in the south, plus a vast swathe of Brazil. Yet this species has a massive gulf between how widespread it is and how few photos have ever been taken.
Amazon coral snakes (Micrurus spixii) measure up to 160cm, and have the usual neurotoxic venom of the coral snake clan. The first problem with photographing this species is their location, which simply reads “Amazon rainforest”. This species’ territory is almost too vast, as it’s impossible to know where to start. From the moment you first step into the suffocating jungle, a hundred pairs of crocodile, pitviper and arrowfrog eyes will swivel towards you, instantly alerted to the intruder.
Even if you find a coral snake, then your problems double. Within the Micrurus coral genus, this species is tricky to distinguish. It has yellow-black-red bands like dozens of its clan, with only subtle ID features.
With the Amazon coral snake, there’s a great chance of snapping a photo, only to find out that it’s a completely different coral snake once you get home, perhaps after showing it to a chuckling university professor friend.
| 3 | Sahyadri hills whipsnake |
Maximum length: 180cm.
A bizarre Indian snake with keyholes for pupils and superb camouflage. The Sahyadri hills whipsnake (Ahaetulla sahyadrensis) almost perfectly mimics a gnarly tree branch, with consistently parched brown colours.
This species lives exclusively in the western Ghats mountain range of India, in moist deciduous forests and evergreen forests, usually on branches near streams. They prey mainly on lizards, and have a mild venom which has caused no known fatalities. Until 2020, they were merely a subspecies of the brown-speckled whipsnake, before being granted independence.
If you finally find this snake, you should succeed in taking a photo, as they aren’t especially twitchy or nervous. Ahaetulla sahyadrensis won’t flee if you’re a few metres away, but the problem is finding them in the first place. They could be anywhere in the forest, and there’s no way to guess which particular tree they’ll be lurking in.
Even if you do snap a photo, their camouflage is so superb that they may not show up in that picture. Of course, if they stray to greener, juicier foliage, their camouflage will be completely busted. That’s assuming that your camera doesn’t run out of charge, or you don’t start hearing tiger growls from the bushes.
| 4 | Broad-head ground snake |
Maximum length: 61.8cm.
A semi-fossorial snake which averages at just 50cm, and belongs to Atractus, the world’s largest snake genus, at 141 members. The broad-head ground snake (Atractus latifrons) occupies a swathe of western South America, from Brazil to Ecuador. Its territory spans thousands of square miles, yet Atractus latifrons is encountered rarely by citizens going about their daily lives. To a western reptile enthusiast seeking an HD photograph, the task is even harder.
Atractus latifrons is a diehard burrower, burying its entire body beneath leaf litter, or the decaying forest mulch of 15 seasons. They mainly feed on earthworms, and have a small gape size of their mouth, as sucking these slimy creatures down is perfectly easy. With no venom, nor vicious bite (they barely have teeth), the motivation is high to stick to disguising layers of soil where nobody can see them.
If you do find the broadhead ground snake, it’s more likely to be luck, unless you’re an elite reptile hunter who can track them down through sheer instinct. If there’s one photography tip for this species, it’s to wait for heavy rains. These draw their earthworm prey to the surface, and hence Atractus latifrons too.
| 5 | Darevskii’s viper |
Maximum length: 51.7cm.
One of the rarest vipers in Eurasia. Darevskii’s vipers (Vipera darevskii) are limited to rugged mountains on the border regions of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia, at altitudes of over 2000 metres.
We know a little about Vipera darevskii – that much of its diet comes from mammals and lizards, including the European snow vole. Its venom is relatively mild, and bites are rarely fatal. But actually finding these snakes is extremely difficult.
Darevskii’s vipers are rare to start with, but combined with their grey scales that blend perfectly with rock fields, and a small size of 40cm, photographing one is a great accomplishment. You could be scraping around on your hands and knees for hours, not realising that you’re in the wrong location. Alternatively, Darevskii’s viper could be lurking in a comfortable rock crevice, unwilling to show itself.
Another disadvantage is that Vipera darevskii is relatively lazy. They’re an ambush predator, and they’re rarely spotted while on the move. They do live in stunning mountainsides with great views, so there’ll be some compensation when you fail, as at least you’ll have something to photograph.
| 6 | Short ground snake |
Maximum length: 60.7cm.
A harmless forest species ranging from Ecuador to Brazil to French Guiana, which mainly travels along the ground, searching for small streams and pools to invade. Short ground snakes (Erythrolamprus breviceps) prey on earthworms and small frogs, and are recognisable by their glistening blue-black scales contrasting sharply against orange.
Like the Amazon coral snake, this species has a huge east to west span, but disproportionately few photos. Firstly, this is a snake of remote habitats, including rainforests, rice fields next door to rainforests, and clearings along large rainforest rivers.
Secondly, short ground snakes have a strong tendency to dart away when spooked. Short ground snakes can’t fight off a predator, as they lack venom or vicious, tearing fangs. What they do have is the tangled wall of rainforest, and they exploit this by instantly vanishing into the undergrowth, the second their minimum danger threshold is exceeded.
Photographing this snake is like untangling wires; fiddly and annoying, though very satisfying when you finally accomplish it. At 50-60cm, short ground snakes aren’t a large target either. Consider yourself if not a master, then a higher apprentice if you photograph this snake.
| 7 | Banded flying snake |
Maximum length: 74cm.
Part of the 5 member Chrysopelea flying snake genus. This species averages at 60cm, and primarily inhabits Singapore and Indonesia.
It all seems so easy at first, as banded flying snakes (Chrysopelea pelias) are fairly common where they live. They can be found sitting on tree branches 5-10 metres high, gazing at their surroundings calmly, often near villages. It’s the perfect chance to flash a photograph, but unfortunately, Chrysopelea pelias has other plans.
This species is able to disappear extremely quickly, as their entire hunting strategy revolves around leaping from tree branches with a millisecond’s notice. They then glide through the air, aiming at geckos they’ve spotted on branches 10 metres away, or perhaps on the ground, using their momentum to capture them like a plane hitting a runway.
The easiest time to photograph Chrysopelea peliasis is while on the ground, but beware. This is when their nervous, twitchy speed comes into play. Banded flying snakes can ascend thin, spindly branches so fast that they seem to be breaking the laws of physics.
| 8 | March’s palm pitviper |
Maximum length: 104cm.
An incredibly hard snake to photograph, mainly because of the extreme heights they reach. At 25 metres, March’s palm pitviper holds one of the records for highest branch perch among Central American snakes. A 2022 study found that the average alone was 17.04 metres.
March’s palm pitvipers can lurk in these upper canopies for weeks and weeks, in patient ambush posture, awaiting mammals like Mexican deer mice. The next card they play is camouflage, as March’s palm pitvipers are severely green, just like the rainforests they live in.
If you’re standing right below Bothriechis marchi, swinging your camera around in frustration, you might still not notice them. The only decent opportunity for photographing this species is their occasional excursions to the ground, as they’re sometimes spotted crossing fallen logs across small streams.
If you actually find one, March’s palm pitvipers are easy to snap a photo of, as they’re relatively slow, but it’s still easier said than done. This species can reach 1 metre, and lives only in Honduras, particularly Casuco National Park in the northwest.
| 9 | Ijima’s sea snake |
Maximum length: 85cm.
Of all snake groups, the sea snakes are easily some of the hardest to photograph. The Hydrophis genus has 36 members, and a good chunk have no legally useable pictures, except for faded old specimens in museum jaws.
One tricky species to photograph is Ijima’s sea snake (Emydocephalus ijimae). This is a northerly sea snake, inhabiting Taiwan and Japan’s southerly Ryukyu islands. A particular hotspot is Taiwan’s Orchid island.
Ijimae’s sea snakes almost never attack humans, and mainly prey on fish eggs, scooped up from coral reef crevices. Herein lies the problem. While elegant sea snakes at least swim around open sandy bottoms, and black-banded sea kraits rest in tidal caves, Emydocephalus ijimae is permanently hidden in an exploding galaxy of colour.
Coral reefs are so busy that it’s a nightmare to find Ijimae’s sea snake in them, let alone fumble around with your camera and flash a photograph. Then there’s the crevices and coral ravines they lurk in. Ijima’s sea snake even uses these hideaways to avoid sharks, although they might be vulnerable to sea anemones, stationary creatures related to corals that look like mushrooms, which seize fish with their tentacles and thrust them into a hungry core.
| 10 | Oenpelli python |
Maximum length: 5 metres.
The Australian outback is a wasteland covering thousands of miles, often with nothing but orange soil and tiny green highway signs. The northern realms host one of Earth’s rarest constrictors, the Oenpelli python. This thin-bodied python was estimated to number below 10,000 in 2008.
Oenpelli pythons lurk in deep soil tunnels and dried out crevices. Even scientists struggle to find them, and quality photographs are few and far between. The problem is that literally anywhere on the expansive dusty surface could host them, so where do you start? It’s the opposite problem to Amazon coral snakes and their endless rainforest vistas.
Oenpelli pythons are theorised to prey on small wallabies and kangaroos. At regular lengths of 4 metres, and rumours of over 5 metres, they’re the seventh longest snake on Earth, yet this hasn’t made them easier to capture in photo form.
This species is easily the hardest of the top 20 longest snakes to photograph. They’re a massive challenge for any reptile enthusiast who thinks he’s conquered everything. Even if you miraculously find one and line up your camera for a shot, their head could retreat backwards into their underground soil crack, vanishing completely.