A black mangrove snake with yellow bands coiled in leaves. — Photo: Cymothoa exigua, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mangrove Snake

Boiga dendrophila

A glossy black, yellow-banded tree snake of Southeast Asian mangroves, also called the yellow-ringed cat snake.

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About the Mangrove Snake

Mangrove snakes are slender black snakes with narrow yellow bands and yellow around the face. They live across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, coiled in mangrove branches over water by day. At night they hunt small mammals such as bats, plus birds and their eggs, lizards, frogs and other snakes.^[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name: Boiga dendrophila^[1]
Diet: Carnivore. Small mammals such as bats, birds and eggs, lizards, frogs and snakes.^[1]
Habitat: Mangroves and forests along rivers and coasts.^[1]
Where it lives: Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.^[1]
Group life: Nocturnal.^[1]
Babies: 4 to 15 eggs, usually about 10, laid in tree hollows.^[1]
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2019).^[2]

Fun facts

It's also called the yellow-ringed cat snake.^[1]
It has fangs at the back of its mouth.^[1]
Mangrove snakes lay their eggs in tree hollows.^[1]

Vocabulary

mangrove: A tree or shrub that grows in salty water along tropical coasts.
rear-fanged: Having fangs at the back of the mouth instead of the front.
arboreal: Living mostly in trees.
nocturnal: Active mainly at night.
least concern: A conservation label meaning a species is widespread and not at risk of dying out soon.

See it in person

Smithsonian's National ZooWashington, D.C. · Reptile Discovery CenterSee this animal on the zoo's website ↗

These zoos had this animal when we gathered our information, but animals sometimes move. Check the zoo's website or contact the zoo before you visit.

Sources

[1] Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. “Mangrove snake.” https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/mangrove-snake (accessed 2026-10-08)
[2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Boiga dendrophila (Mangrove Cat Snake).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/183186/1731375 (accessed 2026-10-08)

Facts last checked 2026-10-08.

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