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Two Predation Events Documented Eastern Vine Snakes Eating Flap-necked Chameleons in Mozambique

Eastern vine snake consuming a flap-necked chameleon at Ngazi Camp in the Zambezi Delta, Mozambique
Research · Ecology

Two direct field observations in the Zambezi Delta documented eastern vine snakes (Thelotornis mossambicanus) feeding on flap-necked chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis). The study, published on 9 June 2026 in African Journal of Ecology, provides the first published photographic documentation of this predator–prey interaction in the wild.

Both observations were made during opportunistic visual searches in sand-forest habitat at Ngazi Camp in Coutada 11, southern Mozambique. In other words, researchers were actively looking for reptiles and recorded rare interactions when they happened rather than following fixed sampling points or a standardised predation survey. The two encounters can therefore describe behaviour in detail, but they cannot show how frequently eastern vine snakes prey on flap-necked chameleons. The first occurred on 16 April 2023. Researchers initially saw an adult vine snake about 1.8–2.5 metres above the ground and an adult flap-necked chameleon nearby in the vegetation. When they passed the same place again a few minutes later, a vine snake was on the ground holding a chameleon head-first in its mouth. The researchers could not confirm that these were the same two individuals they had seen earlier.

The first interaction was followed for about 30 minutes. The snake initially remained on the sandy ground without swallowing the chameleon. It then moved across the substrate, climbed a staircase and entered a tree while dragging the limp prey. Only after reaching a stable position in the vegetation did it begin swallowing the chameleon, continuing to climb as ingestion progressed.

The second observation, on 17 June 2025, began with another vine snake already holding a flap-necked chameleon on the ground. In this case ingestion had started. The snake retreated behind a water reservoir while swallowing the prey, completed ingestion and then moved towards a nearby fig tree. This interaction lasted about 25 minutes.

The attacks were reconstructed from what happened afterwards

The initial strikes and captures were not observed in either case. The authors consider it most plausible that the encounters began in the three-dimensional arboreal habitat before predator and prey ended up on the ground. Eastern vine snakes are rear-fanged snakes with potent haemotoxic venom, so venom-induced weakness could have contributed to the chameleons losing their grip; a violent struggle could also have dislodged the animals. Because the actual strike and fall were not seen, the study cannot determine which mechanism caused the displacement. The authors use the observations to discuss what they call vertical displacement: a predator–prey interaction shifting from structurally complex vegetation to the comparatively flat forest floor.

Flap-necked chameleons rely on camouflage, panoramic vision, grasping feet and a prehensile tail in their arboreal habitat. Eastern vine snakes are likewise highly specialised for hunting in vegetation, with a slender cryptic body and binocular vision that aids depth perception. The authors argue that the two encounters show how the chameleon’s arboreal defences can be overcome by a predator that is itself strongly adapted to the same environment.

Because interactions between cryptic animals in dense vegetation are difficult to observe directly, the researchers suggest that long-term arboreal camera trapping and automated video analysis could help document more rare predator–prey events of this kind.

Sources and image credit

  1. Miguel, A. R., Kaiser, H., Briers-Louw, W. D., Kendon, T. A., Ngalijuane, D. A., & dos Santos, T. G. (2026). Arboreal Duels in a Shared Niche: Direct Observations of Vinesnake (Thelotornis mossambicanus) Predation on Chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis) Reveal Complex Foraging Dynamics. African Journal of Ecology, 64(4), e70190. https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.70190Primary peer-reviewed open-access study, first published 9 June 2026. It reports two opportunistic observations at Ngazi Camp, Coutada 11, Zambezi Delta, Mozambique, on 16 April 2023 and 17 June 2025. The initial strikes were not observed; the paper provides the first published photographic documentation of Thelotornis mossambicanus consuming Chamaeleo dilepis in the field.

Image: Zambeze Delta Conservation / African Journal of Ecology — eastern vine snake (Thelotornis mossambicanus) consuming a flap-necked chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis) at Ngazi Camp, Zambezi Delta, Mozambique; photograph from the study · CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ · Source

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