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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Mark_OShea on March 31, 2006
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Hi Keiron and Jake
First off my website is way out of date. I discovered it does not actually belong to me, after all the work I did on it, so I did not spend more time putting on Series 4. I am slowly building a new site, bigger and better I hope, which will be right up to date and include much more diverse stuff than just the films I hope.
Now to your question, or was it an observation.
Yes, we go to very remote regions and look for highly venomous creatures, that is the name of the game (or we did because OBA finished with Series 4 and may have been replaced with someone else chsing snakes). And you are quite correct when you realise the crew is at risk too, if not more so.
When I was looking for timber rattlesnakes in Wisconsin one journalist said "Never mind O'Shea getting close, what about his cameraman, he is real close". In fact he missed the point, I was wearing a lipstick-camera (the hyphen to make sure those two words stay together so you don't get the wrong idea) on the side of my head and that camera saw everything I saw close-up with my eyes. I also wore it when I found the, then undescribed, Alcatraz lancehead off Sao Paulo, Brazil (Lost Worlds) within 10 minutes of searching when we had allocated 2 days for the search.
But the crews are at risk, the cameraman is concentrating on the view-finder which gives him a black and white image while the sound recordist is wearing headphones and concentrating one what I am saying, not the branches near him.
On really remote films, PNG, Kimberley Western Australia, dive films on Ashmore Reef or Lake Tanganyika, Ilha Queimada Grande (golden lancehead), Krakatau, Komodo etc we took a medic with us in case of accidents or illness. There are other things that can go wrong like falls, malaria, serious cuts, stomach upsets, which need someone along who can deal with them, it is not just snakebites that one has to consider and in all my films we only had three, my stiletto snake and Nils's black mamba bite in Black Mamba (which was not OBA) and my island pitviper bite on Komodo (OBA).
The S.African Bibron's stiletto snake (Atractaspis bibroni) is the best known of 16 species in the genus which is occurs through Africa and Arabia and belongs in the family Atractaspididae (check out my new book Venomous Snakes of the World Princeton Univ.Press (US) or New Holland (UK) publishers for much more information). Of the 16 species, perhaps 3 have been implicated in human deaths but not the one that bit me. There is no antivenom. And yes, they have long horizonal fangs that flick out and pull back to bite. You cannot pick this beauties up behind the head. I have caught three species in my career (the other two in W.Africa in 1989) and been bitten by two of them. The other bite is a very amusing story but I have no time to tell it here. They are called side-stabbing snakes, burrowing asps, once they were called mole vipers. The bite I received in S.Africa was actually 3 bites, one to the back of the right hand and two to the back of the left hand, as the snake rolled over my hands. And it hurt, a great deal.
I can send an autographed postcard or two if you give me a postal address. I see you live near Stonehenge, not so far away, we may yet meet since we are on the same island. You can buy a copy of Venomous Snakes directly from me, signed and dedicated, if you wish. It costs £24.99 + £5.00 postage. Cheques should be sent to me at West Midland Safari Park (Reptile House), Bewdley, Worcestershire DY12 1LF. Overseas buyers please note this is the inland UK postal rate for the book. I also have another book available, my DK Handbook to Reptiles and Amphibians which is £12.99 + £2 postage and more books are on the way.
All the best
Mark
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Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Catly on March 31, 2006
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hello there! I've just returned from a honeymoon of a lifetime in the Orinoco Delta. On one evening trip back from the Warao settlement I saved my newly acquired husband from stepping on a snake which my guide said was extremely toxic having both neuro and heamo toxicity. I know it's quite a young nipper (no pun intended) but I'm not having much luck in identifying it. can I email anyone three pics of it to see if I can get an identification? It's a real beauty and the local name began with an 'N' but my spanish is pretty awful I forgot to try and write down the pronounciation.
Any help gratefully received!
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by keyz on April 1, 2006
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Thanks for replying so promptly, Please could you tell me how to get my postal address to you as I really want to spend some money on more books, as I alredy have enough snakes (for my limited space), And a signed dedicated copy of a book I would want would be brilliant, Also please contact Karl Betts for my email address if you require it as im sure he will have it, Thats a bit of a mickey take with the website and I wondered what had happened but you have explained, If you are going to be doing any work down south and there is a chance of actually meeting you please private email me and I will do my best to be there, Thanks again for your time Mark, Keep safe Kieron+Jake,
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Hotherps on April 6, 2006
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Qoute "Hospitals should follow procedures put in place by real experts, professional physicians with proven experience of successfully treating snakebites, not johnny-com-lately self-professed 'experts' - I think someone knows to which recent incident I am referring." end qoute.
Yes I and many of the respected “names” within the herp community know exactly who you are referring to. He has learnt a hard lesson and hopefully will not be giving out any unauthorised advice in future.
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Mark_OShea on April 7, 2006
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Hi Catly
So pleased to see the lady coming to the rescue of her beau!
Can you post the images on the internet and I will take a look at them and see if I can recognise the snake if someone has not already idented it for you.
In Orinoco delta, interesting, that narrows choices of venomous (or nonvenomous) species down a little.
Curious !
Kindest regards, Mark
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Mark_OShea on April 7, 2006
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Hi Keiran
No plans to be down south just yet, maybe a filing day or two down there but the schedule will be tight, too tight for me to go wandering off !!
I tend to use the Reptile House address @ West Midland Safari Park, Bewdley, Worcs. DY12 1LF
I did not altogether follow all of your email but never mind.
Hope all this helps
Best
Mark
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Catly on April 8, 2006
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Hi Mark
Thank you so much for responding- you're infamous among the local guides for your programme on green anaconda's in Venezuela! I tried posting the three photo's but I kept getting an error message- probably me doing something wrong! There is a photo of the snake under my profile on the webpage. I hope you can help identify it although I don't want it to turn out to be too harmless- that would ruin the story for future grandchildren and lessen the weight of gratitude my newly-wed needs to bestow on me! (not that I would tell him!)
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
Best wishes
Cat
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Mark_OShea on April 10, 2006
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Hi Catly
The photo your profile looks like a Bothrops, and there are two possibilities for the Orinoco delta, B.asper (terciopelo) or B.atrox (common lancehead). The former is the larger and mor aggressive species but the latter is the most dangerous snake in Latin America, causing more snakebite fatalities than another other species. Either way it looks like a juvenile but your hubby should still be grateful for you rescuing him.
It is possible that those apparent pits on the head are an aberration and it is a colubrid, a harmless Thamnodynastes of Xenodon which resemble Bothrops, but I think not.
It would be helpful to see a high resolution image of the head though.
Best, Mark
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RE: Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by Catly on April 10, 2006
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Hi Mark
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I've posted the better picture of the head on my profile now and it blows up quite well when you double click on the picture. Don't worry if you don't have time to look at it though.
many thanks for all your help! I've printed your reply and stuck it in the photo album next to the pictures of the snake for all to see!
Best wishes
Cat
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Mark O'Shea Answers Questions
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by catch22 on April 12, 2006
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Hi Mark;
Who is the expert on the stiletto viper aka burrowing mole snake, in Natal. In a recent incident, at the home of a distant friend in Bothas Hill/Hillcrest Durban a local African gardener was observed at distance by a 6 year old female toddler placing the stiletto into a garbage can. The Toddler then ambled over, opened the can and was bitten on the hand. The unfortunate thing was that the toddler was taken to a pharmacy first and only two days later was rushed to Hospital and misdiagnosed. Necrosis ocurred and she nearly lost her arm, but this was saved and a tip of the finger was amputated. Several ops later skin is grafted from her leg to her hand. She is probably traumtised for life.
I understand that relatively little is known about this species and subspecies and (you got bitten too?) but there needs to be some education here (in RSA) and some info on how to recognise these bites (esp with single fang which can be mistaken for a spider bite) I think that the danger element is downplayed here.
Natal is infested with snakes and it seems to be getting worse as I encounter them every single visit there. The last time I was there, a Mozambican Spitting Cobra who invaded the kitchen of a house on a Game Farm was killed by the rangers after several tense minutes looking for it as it hid behind a fridge in near darkness. Again education should be given to these dumbasses in ranger gear on how to safely relocate snakes. CSIR has no published antivenin for the Stiletto.
Keep up the good work.
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