African Rock Python

African Rock Python
アフリカニシキヘビ
Character Data
Romaji		Afurikan ishikihebi
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Python sebae
Distribution		Africa
Diet		Carnivore
Avg. Lifespan		27 years
Read More		African rock python
Conservation

African Rock Python​

Festival​

Pavilion​

KF3​

Kingdom​

Nexon Game​

Gallery

“I'll wait slowly and carefully. It's advantageous to take my time. And then, I'll strike a sudden attack. From there, all I need to do is to keep attacking viciously. All to protect the Park's peace, and for love.”
—African Rock Python's introduction

The African Rock Python is a type of snake Friend that first appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

African Rock Python has somewhat messy blonde hair, with choppy asymmetrical bangs and two neater tails at the back which somewhat flare out to each side. Her hair sports violet highlights at the ends of the side-bangs framing her face, her right-side front bangs, and the aforementioned tails, giving the latter the appearance of snake tongues. She has sharp purple eyes with the vertical pupils seen in most snake Friends.

African Rock Python wears an olive green hooded top similar to a hoodie or light parka, but which appears to have a skirt where the bottom hem might normally be; otherwise, she may simply wear an olive green skirt that shares the pale pink zipper stripe running down the front-middle of the hoodie. The body and hood of the top sport a brown geometric pattern evoking the scales of the snake she generated from; the back of the garment is mostly brown, and breaks up into patches at the sides and front. A light green strip with six brown spots runs down the very front of the top, intersecting the olive green to create the look of a snake's pale underbelly, and this strip is in turn bisected by the previously mentioned pale pink zipper stripe. The top of her hood bears patches of a hexagonal scale pattern and a pair of large, luminous yellow false eyes, giving it an appearance strongly evoking a snake's head; this is accented further by the hood's purple drawstrings, which are forked at their ends so as to resemble snake tongues. On her legs she wears black pantyhose with a hexagonal scale print, creating a look not dissimilar to fishnets, and sports knee-high black boots with hot pink belts. She additionally has a long, slender snake tail, olive green like her hoodie with a matching geometric brown pattern along its scales.

Her hands are covered by a pair of off-black leather gloves, and she carries a purple whip with a bright yellow handle; the tip of the whip is slightly bulbous.

Differences in Old Design

African Rock Python's first design was nearly identical to her modern concept, the only notable differences being that the patterns on her outfit and tail were much less geometric than they would later come to be and the metal part of her leg belt being pink instead of white.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2018	Kemono Friends Pavilion	↪ Minor character, observable
2018	Kemono Friends Festival	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2018	Kemono Friends Picross	Playable puzzle
2019	Kemono Friends 3	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2022	Kemono Friends Kingdom	↪ Major character, unobtainable

Minor Appearances

Kemono Friends Picross

African Rock Python appears in a puzzle of Kemono Friends Picross where the player can obtain a picture of the Friend by solving a puzzle.

In Real Life

Python sebae (Central African rock python)

The Central African rock python (Python sebae) is a massive snake species that can be found in various habitats across central and southern Africa; they are comfortable in grasslands, forests, rocky expanses, savannas, and swamps alike. Regardless of where they make their homes, they seem to prefer territory near permanent bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, and are even known to flourish in habitats disturbed by human activities such as farming; consequently, these snakes are not an unusual sight in cane fields. Otherwise, they can often be found sheltering in rocky outcrops or the abandoned burrows of other animals. The Central African rock python is the largest snake species in Africa, with the largest specimens of Python sebae approaching or exceeding lengths of 6 m (20 ft) and weights of 90 kg, and is in turn considered to be one of the six largest snake species in the world alongside such giants as the reticulated python and green anaconda.

The incredible size of the Central African rock python means it can handily tackle large prey animals such as warthogs, antelopes, vultures, dogs, goats, monitor lizards, and even crocodiles. Like all pythons, the Central African is a constrictor, killing its prey through a process of constriction rather than the venom associated with many other snakes. After seizing prey with its jaws, the snake wraps its muscular body around its quarry and tightens its coils every time the victim breathes out. Though the prey does become unable to breathe once wrapped tightly enough, death is believed to be caused by the onset of cardiac arrest, rather than the asphyxiation typically assumed of constriction.

As with all snakes, Central African rock pythons have a well-developed and functional vomeronasal organ system, supplied by their forked tongues. The unique shape of the tongue allows the snake to bring chemicals in the environment, such as those given off by predators, prey, or other pythons, back to a specialized organ which then allows them to interpret data in a matter not dissimilar to how some animals use their nostrils; however, while the use of the nasal system entails the detection of odors via olfaction, the snake's use of the vomeronasal system relates to the detection of vomodors via vomerolfaction. Pythons also possess heat-sensing pits in the labial scales that detect infrared (heat) patterns given off by endothermic predators and prey; unlike the vomeronasal system, this trait is present only in the constrictor snakes and the pit vipers.

Though considered Near Threatened by the IUCN, and still common in much of central Africa, the Central African rock python faces a number of threats which have caused some of its populations to suffer heavy declines. Notably, hunting of the snakes for leather and bushmeat has taken a serious toll on their numbers, and habitat destruction only restricts their safe havens. That being as it may, these pythons are believed to have established populations in protected areas such as the Serengeti National Park.

Trivia

• The generic name, Python, is a Greek word referring to the enormous serpent slain by Apollo at Delphi in Greek mythology. The specific name, sebae, is the Latinised surname of Dutch zoologist Albertus Seba.
• Though they were once believed to be one pan-tropical species under two subspecies, the Central African rock python, Python sebae, and the Southern African rock python- Python natalensis- have since been deemed more than distinct enough to be considered two individual species under the Python genus. Nonetheless, the two are highly similar and easily confused; the most obvious difference is that the scales of P. sebae are typically considered to be more vibrant in color than those of P. natalensis.

References

• "African rock python" BBC Nature Wildlife.

• African Rock Python. Boas and Pythons of the world.

• "Python sebae" Encyclopedia Of Life.