Carpet Viper - Senegal

Senegal is the western most country on the African mainland. Senegal’s capital city is located on the Cape-Vert Peninsula, once a favorite moorage point for European sailing vessels for procuring supplies and to trade with the locals as they passed along the shipping routes between Europe and Asia.

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Echis leucogaster - The carpet viper is not a desert snake, but thrives best in semi-arid locations along dry river beds or the edges of oases having some degree of vegetation. It is a small snake, growing to an average length of about 30 centimeters. The carpet viper’s diet is limited to prey animals including scorpions and centipedes. Despite its size, the carpet viper has a reputation of being a bad-tempered snake able to deliver a deadly bite resulting in hemolysis, a condition effecting the blood’s ability to clot.

Gum Acacia - Senegal

Senegalia senegal - The gum acacia is a tree native to the arid regions below the Sahara Desert. It grows to a  height of 15 meters and has a trunk of 30 centimeters in diameter. The seeds are dried and eaten, crushed into powder to make dyes or used for making soap after extracting the essential oils. The bark of the tree secretes a gum, an important ingredient used as an emulsifier, stabilizer, and flavor enhancer. This gum is commonly found in items made by the confectionery industry.

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The Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest is a central bank located in Dakar, Senegal. It manages the currencies of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, a custom and currency union of several West African states. The Communauté Financière d'Afrique (CFA) was established in 1945 to serve as a unified currency in French colonial Africa against the devalued franc being used in France. There are currently 14 countries using the CFA.