The Gaboon viper is a large, very beautiful, venomous snake in the viper family from Africa. In fact the Gaboon viper is the heaviest viperid in the world, and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake.
Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica), Toronto Zoo.
Gaboon vipers rarely bite humans, even when provoked, but when they do they inject a large amount of venom that is often fatal.
Gaboon vipers are fairly widespred in Africa and currently they are not in any danger of extinction.
In spite of its dangerous venom some people do keep Gaboon vipers as pets. While Gaboon vipers are a beautiful snakes that do adapt well to captivity, and can even be captive bred under suitable conditions, one should carefully consider the dangers of keeping a large venomous snake before getting a Gaboon viper as a pet.
Further Readings:
Gaboon viper on the Toronto Zoo website.
Bitis gabonica on the Animal Diversity Web.
Gaboon Viper gaboonviper.org.
Gaboon Viper on reptilesmagazine.com.