The female West Gabon viper (Bitis gabonica) that lives in Terra Natura Benidorm has managed to have 36 babies, after concluding a gestation period of eight months. The herpetologists of the park had been matching this female with the male for six years to try to achieve their reproduction and thus promote the conservation of this species.

This is the third time that this species has been born in Terra Natura Benidorm. In fact, its reproduction is quite complex because has to be very controlled the union times between the couple, the environmental parameters and the type of food administered. In one of the unions carried out at the beginning of January of this year, it was detected that the male and the female started mating thanks to the video camera system that the terrarium has.

Since then, both specimens have been fed every 15 days following their usual feeding protocol, but in March the female stopped eating, a behaviour that was interpreted by her keepers as a possible sign that the female could be pregnant and was preparing for the delivery, which has developed normally and more than 30 babies Gabonese vipers are in perfect condition.

As soon as they are born, the babies have already started their first shedding of skin. The team of experts is excited about this birth, which contributes directly to the conservation of this species. A species that, according to the park professionals, allows to control the overpopulation of rats and mice in wild environments, and also has enzymes in its venom that can make advances in the treatment of some diseases and in the creation of antivenoms.