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South Africa's Drakensberg Range is home to one of the most feared and, arguably, the most odd species of purported snake known as the Das-Adder.

The Das-Adder's etymology derives from the alternative name for the Rock Hyrax, the Cape Dassie. Its resemblance to an African Puff Adder for the most part earned it its clever name, the Das-Adder.

What does a hyrax have to do with anything, you may ask? This sinuous creature resembles the African Puff Adder throughout all of its body for the most part, except for one astonishing feature. This peculiar peril has the head of a rock hyrax! However one of its most terrifying feature is the fact that its cute little head is extremely venomous! Also it is said to be able to hypnotize a person just by merely glancing at them!

This Hypnotizing Hyrax-Headed Horror had a more detailed account recorded in a man's lengthy article about African cryptids in the journal Empire Review. The man, W.L. Speight, spoke about how its tail was marked with extravagant red & yellow stripes, possibly to warn potential predators that this "snake" is venomous, or that it's an expert hypnotist. Its external ear openings apparently folded into a crest. He also said in his intriguing article that locals believed that it was actually a lizard with a 2-foot tail.

Possible Explanations[]

So, what could the Das-Adder be? Well, one zoologist was disappointed when he set up a campaign to have a Das-Adder specimen be brought to him to display in a museum. However, the search did not turn up a creature. The saddened zoologist determined that this "snake" was probably just a Cape Rock Monitor slipping between rocks with its legs concealed from view. Others still argue it is in fact an odd species of snake. What do you think?


It could also be speculated that the creature may have been a misidentification of a simple rock hyrax being eaten by an African puff adder, rear first, where it might look like the snake has a hyrax for a head.

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