![Close-up of a Man Mountain pit viper with it's pink tongue flicking](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-hero-mang-mountain-pit-viper.jpg)
Mang Mountain pit viper
![lizard](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-icon-reptiles.png)
Reptiles
![World map highlighting China](/sites/default/files/2017-07/maps-china_1.png)
![](/sites/default/files/2017-04/endangered_graph_endangered.png)
Endangered
facts
![mountain pit viper next to an average american bed](/sites/default/files/2017-12/card-bed-size-viper.png)
![carnivore](/sites/default/files/2017-07/food-carne.png)
![forest habitat](/sites/default/files/2017-07/habitats-forest.png)
description
![Hang mountain pit viper juvenile coiled up on a large green tropical leaf](/sites/default/files/2017-12/mang-viper-juvenile.jpg)
A fairly new find
As far as we know, no one had ever seen a Mang Mountain pit viper until 1989. Its green and brown coloring is perfect camouflage for moving around the forest floor, and if the snake stays still, it seems to vanish!
![Mang mountain pit viper crawling over moist dirt](/sites/default/files/2017-12/mang-viper-crawling.jpg)
We want warmth!
The winters in this viper’s habitat have many days of freezing temperatures. As colder days approach, Mang Mountain pit vipers crawl into caves and under rock ledges. Scientists have found that the snakes that go the deepest have the best chance of surviving until spring.
Although their bite can deliver a deadly dose of venom, these snakes are shy most of the time. But a female will guard her nest of eggs carefully and bite any creature that tries to steal them!