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RE: Danger!
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by Buzztail1 on August 6, 2007
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Just one little fact that Americans take for granted.
You are much more likely to be able to access Black Mamba, Taipan, Russell's Viper, Puff Adder, etc antivenom here in the United States than anywhere that they occur! In less developed nations, hospitals are few and far between and just because there is a hospital in the reachable distance does not mean that they will have antivenom available. All around - a dangerous situation. Quite a few of the herpers that I have met who travel abroad carry their own antivenom with them along with Epi-pens and other treatment necessities.
Australia's Taipan MAY be the exception but a lot of Australia is called "The Outback" for a reason - it is a long ways from anywhere civilised.
I have been snake hunting in King Cobra territory and Australian Tiger Snake territory but the snakes that had me worried about finding them were the Spitting Cobras that shared ranges with the King Cobras. Finding a Spitting Cobra unexpectedly could certainly ruin your day, especially out in the field in an unfamiliar country.
Just my own opinions, not necessarily any more valid than anyone else's.
Karl
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Lachesis get my vote
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by Rob_Carmichael on August 6, 2007
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I completely agree with Karl's comments. If I had to pick one, though, I'd least like to get nailed by a bushmaster (any Lachesis)....for whatever reason, of all of the venomous I work with, this is one that just puts me in a much more "flight" mode if things go awry. Until you've dealt with a fully pissed off bushmaster, one just doesn't know how heart pumping these snakes can be. They can move with alarming speeds, have huge lunging capacities and have venom that can be lethal in a very short amount of time not to mention the immense pain of literally being liquidfied. It's amazing that anyone has survived one of their bites. But, spitters, black mambas, coastal taipans all require the utmost of attention to detail when working with them.
Of course, the bottom line is that the "most dangerous snake" in the world is the one that bites you and the one snake that you "would least like to get bit by" is the one that might bite you.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
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RE: Lachesis get my vote
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by Buzztail1 on August 6, 2007
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Rob, you forgot to mention fang size.
Oh my god, Bushmasters have long fangs!
I was amazed at the first one I saw from a seven foot long Lachesis muta muta. They dwarf Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake fangs.
All-in-all, I just don't want to get bitten by anything. I work very hard at keeping all of my appendages pain free.
R/
Karl
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RE: hot snakes
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by Puma3 on August 7, 2007
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No one has mentioned the Fer de lance or Tiger snakes. Do they fall into the category of "most dangerous" when it comes to venom, disposition, and size?
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RE: hot snakes
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by tj on August 7, 2007
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I've got to agree with Rob. Lachesis would be on the top of my list, along with polylepis and neuro population horridus.
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RE: hot snakes
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by jared on August 7, 2007
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Having worked with all of the above on multiple occassions (lachesis, dendroaspis, oxyuranus,echis, bitis, ophidiophagus etc) of each I can say hands down only 2 species still give me a chill, Large adult import kings (especially indos and thais) can be unbelievably aggressive and persistant and large adult B.atrox and B.asper are unbelievably psychotic. The worse mamba I ever got out were westerns and jamesons, bushmasters are very quite snakes, even the more aggressive stenophrys are no comparison to a large tercipelo. And on side note, russells vipers are all twitchy aggressive exceedingly dangerous snakes. That being said, more people die from common or widespread hots (puff adders,fer de lance, echis in particular) simply based on numbers and distribution than any of the animals which are more problematic in a zoological cage cleaning type situation (king cobras and large tercipelos). Just my experience on the matter,
Jared Watts
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RE: hot snakes
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by jared on August 7, 2007
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And for the most dangerous snake to get bit by ANY lOLOLOL. I once had a fellow herper say it to me this way "dont worry about the king cobra or bushmaster, thatll go so quick you wont even feel it. Its the sawscale that will keep you alive for 3 days bleeding to death until your dry on the 4th". All depends on how fast you wanna go lol.
Jared
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RE: hot snakes
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by nightwolf on August 10, 2007
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I love it when you guys get these debates going , boy can I learn a bunch of things from it . Thanks !
kenny
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RE: Danger!
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by Puma3 on August 10, 2007
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I assume the two most dangerous fators in assessing a specie's lethality are venom make up and sheer size. Is this accurate?
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RE: Danger!
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by jared on August 11, 2007
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No not really. how common a hot is usually, the main killers of humans are VERY common in native areas. In SA upwards of 4000 bothrops envenomations on a yearly basis, africa puff adders (as like bothrops they are found north to south) saw scales ( i once saw a researcher collect over 100 individuals in a night). Lack of medical treatment in those areas, and poor access to antivenom contribute. While size and venom yield are factors, how common an animal is seems to lead to more envenomations. Big edbs and big king cobras will easily kill you, but your MUCH more likely to be bit by a copperhead or common cobra in those areas simply because your chances of interaction are much higher.
Jared
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