🐍 Black mamba vs Harpy eagle 🦅
The black mamba is about 3 times as long as the harpy eagle.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐍 Black mamba | 🦅 Harpy eagle |
|---|---|---|
| Size The black mamba is about 3 times as long as the harpy eagle. | 7.2 to 8.9 ft2.2 to 2.7 m1 | 35 in to 3.3 ft89 cm to 1 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the harpy eagle yet. | 12 mph20 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the black mamba yet. | no checked number yet | 11 to 20 lb5 to 9 kg2 |
| Lives The harpy eagle usually lives about 3 times as long as the black mamba. | 11 years11 years1 | 25 to 35 years25 to 35 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | small mammals such as rodents, squirrels and hyraxes, and sometimes birds | sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | wooded savanna, rocky hills and river forests in south and east Africa | the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina |
Which one? Black mamba or harpy eagle
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the harpy eagle yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
9 things to know about Black mamba vs Harpy eagle
- The black mamba: A very long, quick snake of the African savanna.
- The harpy eagle: A huge gray rainforest eagle with a crest on its head.
- They are different kinds of animal. The black mamba is a reptile, so it has scaly skin; the harpy eagle is a bird, so it has feathers and lays eggs.
- The black mamba is about 3 times as long as the harpy eagle: 1 against 2.
- The harpy eagle usually lives about 3 times as long as the black mamba. Usual lifespans: 1 for the black mamba and 2 for the harpy eagle.
- Both eat meat. The black mamba eats small mammals such as rodents, squirrels and hyraxes, and sometimes birds; the harpy eagle eats sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds.
- The black mamba lives in wooded savanna, rocky hills and river forests in south and east Africa. The harpy eagle lives in the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The black mamba: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The harpy eagle: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐍 Black mamba
- A black mamba can move quickly across the ground.
- It hides among rocks and fallen trees.
- It eats mostly small mammals.
🦅 Harpy eagle
- A harpy eagle lives high in the rainforest treetops.
- Its main foods are sloths and monkeys.
- It has a crest of feathers on its head.
Questions kids ask about Black mamba and Harpy eagle
Which is bigger, black mamba or harpy eagle?
The black mamba is about 3 times as long as the harpy eagle: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, black mamba or harpy eagle?
We only have a checked weight for the harpy eagle: 2. Scientists are still working out the other.
Which lives longer, black mamba or harpy eagle?
The harpy eagle usually lives about 3 times as long as the black mamba. Usual lifespans: 1 for the black mamba and 2 for the harpy eagle.
What do black mamba and harpy eagle eat?
Both eat meat. The black mamba eats small mammals such as rodents, squirrels and hyraxes, and sometimes birds; the harpy eagle eats sloths and monkeys, and sometimes lizards and birds.
Where do black mamba and harpy eagle live?
The black mamba lives in wooded savanna, rocky hills and river forests in south and east Africa. The harpy eagle lives in the treetops of tropical lowland rainforest from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, black mamba or harpy eagle?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/black-mamba-vs-harpy-eagle
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Dendroaspis polylepis (black mamba), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Harpia harpyja (harpy eagle), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.