The most poisonous snake on land. The most dangerous snakes in the world

How does the word “snake” make you feel? Most people are immediately overcome by fear and a desire to hide somewhere, and even animals become restless at the sight of this reptile.

Like many of you, I have not liked snakes since childhood, but after reading the book “Dangerous Paths of a Naturalist,” dedicated to the snake catcher’s profession, my fears decreased.

The book describes in detail the habits of snakes and their classification. It turns out that there are not so many poisonous specimens in the world, namely, of the 2.5 thousand species of all snakes, less than half have a poison strong enough to kill, most accidents are caused by careless contact with a reptile, and most importantly, when the temperature drops ambient air below 20 degrees, the activity of snakes and the possibility of their attacks are reduced significantly.
So, let's look at the Top 10 Most Poisonous Snakes.

1 Fierce Snake (Taipan)

A snake that changes its color depending on the time of year: in summer it is bright, and in winter it is darker. This is the most poisonous snake in the world. Habitat: Central Australia. The venom of one such reptile can kill up to 100 adults. If the snake senses danger, it curls and vibrates the end of its tail.

She received this name because of her color. Its habitat is Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. From the moment of the bite to the death of the victim, only a few minutes pass, and if it is a small animal, then even seconds.

This is one of the varieties of taipan that live in Australia. This is because they are as aggressive as their relatives and move very quickly. It differs from the cruel taipan in its larger size and light color, which does not change throughout the year.

Lives in North America, feeds mainly on birds and rodents, which it attacks with its poisonous teeth. Fortunately, there is already an antidote for her bites, and if administered in time, it will not be fatal. This snake never attacks first unless provoked.

The fastest and most dangerous snake in Africa. She has high striking accuracy and attacks about 12 times when attacking. The black snake is also the most fast snake, because its speed is 20 km/h. After a bite, death occurs within 15 minutes to 3 hours. There is an antidote, and it must be administered at lightning speed.

A snake that stalks its prey. Its venom is less toxic than other snakes, but it injects it in large quantities at once, so the venom of the brown king can be fatal even to humans. The habitat of His Poisonous Majesty is Australia.

Lives in South Asia, Australia. It inhabits dry places with bushes, and often attacks people from its burrows. The poison is dangerous because even after vaccination, deaths occur. An adult snake can reach 2 m in length. Their color is transverse, that is, unlike other snakes, they have transverse stripes of white and yellow. Kraits become active at night. Their venom first affects the muscles, and after 6 hours the brain.

Lives in New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia. She can kill her victim in two ways - poison and suffocation. It also differs in attack speed. For humans, the poison can become fatal if the antidote is not administered in time.

Judging by the name, you can immediately determine the habitat of this reptile! It is attracted to more humid areas and shallow bodies of water. Cobras have always been considered dangerous snakes, but the Philippine one is distinguished by its aggressiveness even among its relatives. Its venom is a neurotoxin, and death can occur within 30 minutes. The cobra throws it 3 meters around!

Distribution: Turkmenistan, Southern Uzbekistan, Southwestern Tajikistan
Sandy efa lives in hilly sands overgrown with saxaul, in loess and clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in the ruins of buildings. It feeds on small rodents, less often lizards, birds, lake frogs, green toads, and sometimes small snakes.
In Africa they died from its poison more people than from everyone African snakes combined. The venom is 16 times stronger than that of the Ruzel's chain viper (Daboia russelii russelii).

Most snakes only attack when they are in danger. But there are also very aggressive ones who attack first, so universal method There is no way to avoid encountering a dangerous reptile. What can I say? Don’t go for a walk, children, to Africa...

Many people sympathize with snakes and even, quite often, keep them as pets. Meanwhile, snakes are one of the most terrible and dangerous living creatures on the planet, and this is not surprising. Many species of these reptiles obtain food by biting their prey and injecting poison, which is produced by special glands. This is what it's all about main danger snake. A bite from any reptile can lead to death. However, snakes very rarely attack a person first; more often, this happens if they are provoked or disturbed.

Rattlesnake

The only snake in our ranking whose homeland is North America. It can be easily recognized by the thickening in the tail, which resembles a rattle. This snake is capable of striking at a distance of 2/3 of its body length. The species from the eastern part of the continent is considered more dangerous. Individuals who have not reached sexual maturity are more dangerous than adults due to their inability to regulate the amount of toxin administered. Most species of rattlesnakes have hemotoxic venom that damages tissue, destroys organs and causes blood to clot (coagulopathy). In some cases, after a snake bite, scars remain on the body, even with timely treatment.

General symptoms: difficulty breathing, excessive salivation, extensive hemorrhages, paralysis. Untreated rattlesnake bites, especially from larger species, almost always leave serious injuries and can result in death. Timely medical care reduces the likelihood of death to 4%

Australian Spinetail

Habitat of the spiny tail, Australia and New Guinea. These reptiles hunt their relatives, other snakes, attacking them, as a rule, from ambush. The Australian spinytail has external resemblance with a rattlesnake: the same triangular head shape and short, squat body. When bitten, the snake often injects from 40 to 100 mg of poison. Since, according to its properties, the spiny tail venom is a neurotoxin, it is considered the most dangerous because it causes paralysis respiratory organs, as a result of which death can occur within 6 hours.

The antidote used for a stingtail bite works quite effectively, reducing overall symptoms and alleviating the condition of the victim. Before the invention of the antidote, the mortality rate from its bite was 50%.

Interesting fact: the snake's throwing speed during an attack is 0.13 seconds.

Viper

Vipers are found in many parts of the planet, but perhaps the most poisonous species, a sand epha that lives primarily in the Middle East and Central Asia, in particular: India and China. These snakes hunt at night and become especially active after rain.

Symptoms of viper venom getting into the blood: swelling of the affected area, pain in the bite area, bleeding often occurs, decreased blood pressure and slowing of the heartbeat; in severe cases, blisters may appear and widespread tissue and muscle necrosis may develop. Nausea, vomiting and facial swelling occur in approximately 30% of cases. It's a dull pain, not only in the affected area, can last from 2 to 4 weeks. Within 1 to 14 days, death may occur from sepsis, cardiac or respiratory failure.

Philippine Cobra

The Philippine cobra is one of the most deadly dangerous varieties cobra It is noteworthy that this reptile is capable of “spitting” venom at a distance of up to 3 m. Just like the Australian spiny tail, the cobra has a neurotoxic venom that causes paralysis of the respiratory and cardiac systems, resulting in death within 30 minutes from the moment of the bite. Damage skin upon bite are minimal.

Common symptoms include: nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea.

Tiger Snake

Habitat Australia. Tiger snake venom is also a neurotoxin. After it enters the bloodstream, it causes localized pain at the site of the bite, tingling, numbness, sweating, and after some time suffocation and death occur. Most often, this snake, when meeting a person, tries to hide as quickly as possible, but can become dangerous and attack if it is caught by surprise or driven into a corner. The tiger snake attacks with lightning speed and without missing a beat.

Black Mamba

The black mamba is found in many parts of the African continent. These reptiles are known to be very aggressive and strike with incredible accuracy. Interesting fact, the black mamba is the fastest snake in the world. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to 20 km/h. The venom of these snakes is a fast-acting neurotoxin. The black mamba can bite up to 12 times in a row, and one bite is enough to kill 10 to 25 adults.

Symptoms of a black mamba bite: sharp pain at the site of the bite, less noticeable than from the bite of snakes with hemotoxic (rattlesnake) venom. The victim then experiences tingling in the mouth and extremities, double vision, confusion, trembling, possibly foaming at the mouth and nose, and severe convulsions. In the absence medical care, symptoms progress rapidly: pallor appears, severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, respiratory arrest, soon followed by coma and death. In the absence of an antidote, the mortality rate from black mamba venom, almost 100%, is one of the highest. Depending on the nature of the bite, death can occur in just 15-30 minutes.

Taipan

The taipan lives in Australia. This snake can be compared to the black mamba in morphology and behavior. When released into the blood, the poison promotes the formation of blood clots, thereby blocking arteries and veins. It is so strong that it can kill up to 12,000 guinea pigs. In addition, the poison also has the properties of a neurotoxin. Until the advent of antivenom, there were no known survivors of a taipan bite. Even with proper medical care and timely administration of the antidote, the victim is guaranteed to remain in the intensive care unit.

Malayan blue krait

The Malayan or blue krait is by far the deadliest of the snakes of this species. Found throughout the area Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Half of the cases of Malayan krait bites end fatal, even with timely medical care and administered antidote. This snake hunts and kills other snakes, including the krait family. They become more aggressive at night, because... lead night image life. However, in most cases, when meeting a person, they try to hide. The snake's venom is 16 times stronger than that of a cobra. When bitten, convulsions occur and paralysis develops quite quickly. Before the advent of antivenom, 85% of blue krait bites were fatal. Death can occur within 6 to 12 hours.

Brown King or Mulga

The habitat of this reptile, like many other poisonous snakes, is Australia. The eastern variety of the Brown King is considered the most dangerous. 1/1400 ounce of this snake's venom is enough to kill a person. The poison, even of immature individuals, can kill a person. This snake has a difficult character and can become aggressive very quickly. There are known cases when Brown snake chased the aggressors for quite a long time, repeatedly biting them. Despite mortal danger In half of the attacks, the Brown Snake does not inject venom into the body of the victim and generally tries not to bite if possible. Since these snakes react to movement, when meeting them it is better to freeze and stand still.

Taipan or Fierce Snake

The taipan is the most poisonous snake on our planet. Its venom is the most toxic of all snakes living on land. The venom produced by this snake is enough to kill 100 people or 250,000 mice. The toxicity of its venom is 10 times higher than that of a rattlesnake and 50 times more than that of a cobra. Fortunately, the taipan is not aggressive, and moreover, it is quite rare to meet on a person’s path to wildlife. No fatalities have yet been reported from encounters with this snake, but an adult could potentially die from a taipan bite within 45 minutes.

Belcher's sea snake

Found in the waters of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, sea snake The Belchera is the most venomous sea snake in the world. It has such a strong poison that literally a few milligrams is enough to kill 1000 adults. This is a very dangerous snake, but despite this, less than a quarter of its bites contain poison, and it is also quite peaceful. Most often, fishermen suffer from its bite because they have to take their nets out of the water while fishing.

More than 2,500 species of snakes live on our planet. They can be found everywhere except Antarctica and a few islands such as New Zealand and Ireland, and there are also none on the small islands of the Atlantic and Pacific (its central part) oceans. However, among all the snake diversity, only 10% are poisonous.

Poisonous snakes use venom for hunting to kill their prey, but they can also bite for defense purposes, but before attacking they most often try to warn the enemy about this. Snakes swallow their prey whole, without chewing it, and so that the victim does not resist and does not complicate the swallowing process, the snake stings it, injecting its poison. By the way, in a defensive snake bite, there is significantly less toxic substance than in a bite during a hunt.

Taipans

Taipans (lat. Oxyuranus) - very poisonous Australian snakes from the asp family, which include only two species: the cruel snake (lat. Oxyuranus microlepidotus) and taipan (lat. Oxyuranus scutellatus). These are quite large snakes. Their bite is considered very dangerous, even the most dangerous among all modern snakes living on Earth. Until the antidote was discovered (in 1955), people died from the bite of these snakes in 90% of cases.

Cruel (fierce) snake (lat. Oxyuranus microlepidotus) can reach up to 1.9 m in length. It can be found in the dry lowland fields of Central Australia, where it hunts small mammals and frogs. The venom of a cruel snake may well be enough to kill 100 adults. By comparison, her poison stronger than poison cobras approximately 180 times.

Taipan or coastal taipan (lat. Oxyuranus scutellatus) - this large (3-3.5 m in length) representative of asps differs from its predecessor in its bad disposition and is considered one of the most aggressive snakes. The taipan is especially dangerous during periods of skin change and reproduction. Found in northeastern Australia and New Guinea. To the delight of the local population, the taipan rarely comes close to their homes, but despite this, someone suffers from its bites every year.

Black mamba

Black mamba (lat. Dendroaspis polylepis) is the most poisonous snake of the African continent. It can be found in savannas and woodlands of Angola, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc. In addition, this snake has a very bad reputation. It is considered the fastest (speeds up to 20 km/h) and aggressive snake in Africa.

Its length can be about 2.4–3 m, and some specimens grow up to 4.5 m in length. It got its name because of its black mouth. terrifying at anyone who comes her way. Having bitten once, the mamba tends to bite several more times. Being the owner of such speed, the mamba often chases its prey rather than sitting in ambush. In one bite, the mamba injects up to 400 mg of poison. Lethal dose for an adult – about 10-15 mg. Its poison causes paralysis and death.

Tiger snake

Tiger snake (lat. Notechis scutatus) - another representative of the adders and a resident of Australia. Although it is a small (up to 2 m) snake, it is very poisonous. Small animals bitten by it die instantly. The danger lies in the fact that it is found almost throughout Australia and is one of the most numerous snakes inhabiting this continent.

Spectacled snake or Indian cobra

Spectacled snake, or Indian cobra(lat. Naja naja ) is a very beautiful motley snake, growing up to 1.5-2 meters in length. Lives in India Central Asia, South China(to the Philippines and the islands of the Malay Archipelago). The offspring of this cobra are poisonous from the very first minutes after birth. I spectacled cobra contains toxins that damage the central nervous system. Just one gram of poison can kill 140 medium-sized dogs.

Malay krait

Malay krait (lat. Bungarus candidus) is a very dangerous snake from the adder family. Extremely unfriendly. It lives in Australia, South Asia and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Its poison is fatal and primarily affects the human brain. Death can occur quickly and even without paralytic symptoms.

Brown king, or mulga

Brown king, or mulga (lat. Pseudechis australis) is a highly venomous snake found throughout Australia. The bite of this large (up to 3 m in length) snake is real threat For human life, since after its bite there is a high probability of death.

Nosed enhydrina

Nosed enhydrina (lat. Enhydrina schistosa) is a poisonous inhabitant of the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Although it is a poisonous snake, it has a rather peaceful character. Seeing a fisherman at sea, he prefers to move away from him. The venom of this snake is 4-8 times more toxic than that of a cobra. The lethal dose for humans is about 1.5 mg of poison. Its venom contains strong neurotoxins.

Sandy efa

Sandy epha (lat. Echis carinatus) is a poisonous snake from the viper family. This is not large snake(50-60 cm in length) lives in clay and loess deserts, near river cliffs and in bush thickets of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as Africa, Algeria, Palestine, Persia, Arabia and in the western part of the Hindustan Peninsula. When meeting a person, it makes a characteristic rustling sound, produced by the friction of jagged rings. If a person survives after being bitten by such a snake, it is likely that he may remain crippled.

Harlequin adder

Harlequin, or eastern asp (lat. Micrurus fulvius) is a venomous snake native to northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States. The owner of a bright color with characteristic red, black and narrow yellow rings. The bite of this snake is very dangerous to human life. If help is not provided in time, a person can die within 20-24 hours.

Ceylon keffiyeh

Ceylon keffiyeh (lat. Trimeresurus trigonocephalus) is one of the most aggressive venomous snakes. This resident of the Pacific coast of America is notorious among the local population. Its bite is considered fatal to humans (it thins the blood, causing severe swelling).

African boomslang

African boomslang (lat. Dispholidus typus) is a very poisonous snake that lives in the South and South West Africa. Its poison is toxic: when it enters the bloodstream, it destroys the cells of the body. African boomslang poison 2 times more dangerous than poison Indian cobra and viper. He is a very aggressive snake, so you should not approach him or make sudden movements - he will attack without hesitation.

Black snake

Black snake (lat. Pseudechis porphyriacus) - this large snake (up to 3 meters long) is feared by all residents of Australia, since its bite is fatal to humans. It is considered a “record holder” for the amount of poison released.

Common viper (lat. Vipera berus) is a poisonous snake from the genus of true vipers. Lives in Eurasia. Its bite is very painful, but rarely leads to death. Hemorrhagic swelling and necrosis occurs at the site of the bite. Signs of poisoning: dizziness, lethargy, headache, nausea, shortness of breath. In especially severe cases, degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver may occur.

Ruzel's Viper

Ruzel's viper (lat. Daboia russelii russelii) - common in Sri Lanka. It is considered dangerous, although not so poisonous. The thing is that where it lives, they do not produce an antidote, so many local residents die from its bites.

Today we will talk about the most dangerous snakes in the World

Snakes are one of the most mysterious and complex creatures on earth; some consider them incredibly beautiful and dangerous, others consider them vile, scary, disgusting, useless animals. The serpent, according to biblical legends, was the wisest animal before the fall of man, after which it began to crawl on its belly and eat dust. Snakes perform mainly sanitary functions by eating rodents, but many of them are poisonous to humans.

“More than 2,500 species of snakes live on our planet. They can be found everywhere except Antarctica and a few islands, such as New Zealand and Ireland, and they are also not found on the small islands of the Atlantic and Pacific (its central part) oceans. However, among all the snake diversity, only 10% are poisonous."

Of the more than 2,500 species of snakes, 410 are venomous.“They differ from each other not only in structure and way of life, but also chemical composition poison, its effect on a living organism. Official statistics state that every year from snake bites up to 50,000 people die.”

The most actively populated by dangerous snakes are countries, regions, continents, where tropics, heat, mountains, and jungles abound. For example, in the vicinity of Brazil there is an island called “Snake”.

“Snake Island (located off the coast of Brazil)

The most dangerous poisonous snakes on the continent are found here. For example, spearheads - one bite from a snake of this species leads to instant tissue death and death.

According to statistics, the number of poisonous snakes ranges from 1 to 5 individuals per square meter area of Zmeiny Island. Therefore, visiting the island is officially prohibited. But still, every year there are extreme sportsmen...”

Only a few species of venomous snakes are found in Russia, mainly in the North Caucasus. In the rest of Russia you can find vipers and copperheads. Their bites are usually non-fatal, but there are rare fatal cases. In general, death from a viper bite occurs about as often as from a hornet bite, and mostly not from poison, but from anaphylactic shock.

In the North Caucasus you can find such poisonous snakes as the copperhead (three species), the viper (six species), the viper, and the tiger snake.

Pictured: Cottonmouth

Viper in the photo

In the photo is Gyurza

“The viper is a representative of the genus of giant vipers and is capable of reaching a length of two meters, it is the largest representative of the genus of vipers. For humans, such a snake is the most dangerous.

In terms of its toxicity, the venom of the viper is perhaps second only to that of the cobra, while during defense, the snake is able to jump the length of its own body towards the enemy.

The bite of such a snake is accompanied by severe pain, vomiting and dizziness; just one such bite contains up to 50 milligrams of poison. If help is not provided on time, then within two to three hours the person will die.”

In addition to infecting the victim with venom, snakes are capable of killing and harming the victim in other ways.

For example, in tropical rivers South America, Brazil is home to the anaconda, we have seen it in horror films and in wildlife videos where a snake swallows animals alive by a crocodile.

This is the largest snake of known modern snakes, even the weight of females can reach 100 kg, length 5-6 meters.

In the photo there is an anaconda

Contrary to the horrors described and shown, the anaconda rarely attacks a person, however, cases of attack and murder of people have still been recorded.

Boas, for example, squeeze the victim, tying it with rings and squeezing the chest or throat.

There are a lot of snakes that infect the victim directly with poison; let’s look at the most dangerous of them.

The first places are shared by the fierce snake, taipan, tiger snake, and sand epha.

I’ll tell you right away about the most beautiful of them:

“The spectacled snake, or Indian cobra (lat. Naja naja) is a very beautiful motley snake, growing up to 1.5-2 meters in length. Lives in India, Central Asia, Southern China (as far as the Philippines and the islands of the Malay Archipelago).

The photo shows a spectacled snake

The offspring of this cobra are poisonous from the very first minutes after birth. The venom of the spectacled cobra contains toxins that cause damage to the central nervous system. Just one gram of poison can kill 140 medium-sized dogs.”

Pictured is a Malayan krait

“The Malayan krait (lat. Bungarus candidus) is a very dangerous snake from the adder family. Extremely unfriendly. It lives in Australia, South Asia and the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

Its poison is fatal and primarily affects the human brain. Death can occur quickly and even without paralytic symptoms.”

I must say, in general, asps are all beautiful, from the outside... Asps are a large family of poisonous snakes, which includes 347 species, grouped into 61 genera, including mambas and cobras.

“In general, neurotoxins predominate in the venom of slate snakes, which gives a characteristic clinical picture when bitten. Local phenomena in the area of the bite almost do not develop (there is no swelling or redness), but death quickly occurs due to oppression nervous system, primarily paralysis of the respiratory center. The bite of large adders, such as cobras, poses a mortal danger to humans.”

In the photo there is a harlequin adder

“The harlequin or eastern adder (lat. Micrurus fulvius) is a poisonous snake that lives in northeastern Mexico and the southeastern part of the United States. The owner of a bright color with characteristic red, black and narrow yellow rings.

The bite of this snake is very dangerous to human life. If help is not provided in time, a person can die within 20-24 hours.”

Adders also include the most poisonous land snake - the cruel snake (although a number of scientists, according to recent studies, call the tiger snake and others the taipan the most dangerous).

The photo shows a cruel snake

“On average, one snake receives 44 mg of venom - this dose is enough to kill 100 people or 250,000 mice. With a semi-lethal dose of 0.01 mg/kg, its venom is approximately 180 times stronger than that of a cobra. However, unlike the coastal taipan, the fierce snake is less aggressive; all documented cases of bites were the result of careless handling” (Wikipedia).

The taipan is perhaps not as beautiful as the harlequin adder, but more dangerous; it is one of the most dangerous and aggressive snakes in the world; every second person bitten dies, despite the use of the serum:

“The coastal taipan or simply Taipan (lat. Oxyuranus scutellatus) is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world.

Pictured is a taipan.

The taipan is very aggressive and fast: when it sees danger, it raises its head, shaking it, then strikes the enemy several times in a row with lightning speed. A taipan bite can lead to death in 4-12 hours, while a person bitten by other most poisonous snakes lives for about a day.

In Queensland, where taipans are most common, despite the invention of the serum, every second bitten person still dies.

Because of its aggressive nature, large size and speed, the taipan is considered the most dangerous of all venomous snakes in the world, although the strength of its venom is somewhat weaker than that of the desert taipan, a fierce snake.”

Mulga in the photo

Mulga or brown king (lat. Pseudechis australis) is a dangerous snake from the adder family. In terms of toxicity, its venom is second only to that of the taipan and tiger snake, but this is successfully compensated for by its a large number: At one time, mulga is capable of releasing up to 150 mg of poison. Moreover, this snake is in no hurry to immediately release the victim, but holds it with its long teeth, injecting new portions of poison.

The black mamba (also asp) is common in Africa, one of the most fast snakes, reaches speeds of over 11 km per hour (yes, that's fast for a snake).

Pictured is a black mamba

“The snake has a sad reputation for being extremely dangerous, the bite of which, before the advent of antidotes, invariably led to death. However, it is not aggressive and avoids human contact whenever possible, only attacking when caught off guard or cornered.

The poison is highly toxic and contains neurotoxins, primarily dendrotoxins, which, in the absence of an antidote, lead to paralysis and respiratory arrest. There are known cases where death occurred within 45 minutes after the bite.”

“Adult specimens reach a length of 2.5 meters, although there are cases of sad encounters with mambas of 4 meters in length. The black mamba owes its name not to the color of its body (it varies), but to the inky color of its mouth.

This reptile is very fast, reaching speeds of up to 20 km/h. After the first “tip,” the mamba tries to sting several more times, and if the poisonous tooth gets into a vein, all is lost. Mambas often love garbage dumps in African villages, which makes ordinary garbage disposal a very extreme activity.”

This is one of the 20 most dangerous snakes on the planet. A dose of 15-29 mg is enough to kill an adult, but the black mamba injects 100-400 mg of poison at a time.

If a person is bitten on a limb, a person has a couple of hours; with timely assistance (injection of serum into the blood), there is a 99% chance of recovery; if the bite is in the face, there is only 20-30 minutes.

The photo shows a green mamba

The green mamba is an insidious snake, it is also nicknamed the “green devil”. The color of its color is very beautiful, from light green to bright green, the length of an adult is about 1.5 m. There are fewer cases of death from green mamba bites than from black mamba bites, but the green mamba attacks very unexpectedly, on its own, and for no apparent reason, there have been cases when she was waiting for people on tree branches while harvesting tea plantations and fell by the collar from above, inflicting a fatal blow. It happened that a person’s death occurred in a couple of minutes, not that they didn’t have time to administer the serum - they didn’t have time to understand what happened.

Death snakes are also a subspecies of adders.

The photo shows a deadly snake

« Deadly snakes (lat. Acanthophis) are a genus of Australian highly poisonous snakes, consisting of 3-5 species. They are among the most poisonous snakes on the planet. The name is translated from Greek as “thorny snake.”

The venom of deadly snakes is extremely toxic - enough venom can be obtained from one snake to kill 2,285 mice. When bitten, a deadly snake injects 70-100 mg of venom (LD50 for mice 0.4-0.5 mg/kg). The venom is almost exclusively neurotoxic and is 1.5 times stronger than the venom of the cobra (Naja naja).

Unlike most Australian adder bites, symptoms of poisoning develop slowly, peaking 24-48 hours after the bite. However, before the development of a special serum, half of the recorded cases died from bites of these snakes. The deadly snake Acanthophis antarcticus is the 10th most venomous land snake in the world.”

There is a common misconception that the most poisonous and dangerous snake is the cobra, in particular the king cobra. This is wrong.

"I king cobra has mainly neurotoxic effects. The venom toxin blocks muscle contractions, which causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, respiratory arrest and death. Its strength and volume (up to 7 ml) are enough to cause the death of a person within 15 minutes after the first full bite. In such cases, the probability of death may exceed 75%.

But, taking into account all the behavioral features of the king cobra, in general, only 10% of bites become fatal to humans. In India, deaths from king cobra bites are rare, despite the fact that up to 50 thousand people die from poisonous snake bites in the country every year.

Pictured is a king cobra

The king cobra is a very patient snake. If a person finds himself at close range with this snake, he should stand (or sit) at the level of its eyes, do not make sudden movements, breathe evenly and look at it calmly. After a few minutes, the cobra will consider the person a harmless object and slip away.”

The sand epha, which usually has a body length of only 70-80 cm, is found in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia, throughout northern Africa to Algeria.

In the photo there is a sand faff

“If an efa bites, then the person is doomed, even if he survives, he will remain crippled forever. In Africa, more people die from its venom than from all African snakes combined.

Lives in lumpy sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. IN favorable conditions Epha can be quite numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, over an area of about 1.5 km, snake catchers produced more than 2 thousand eff in 5 years.”

“The mortality rate for poisoning with epha poisons is about 20%. The use of serum reduces it to 2.5%. According to David Worrell, efa is responsible for greatest number deaths among all the snakes. Death from an ephas bite occurs at a “record” rate late dates: within 3-41 days."

The most poisonous snake living in the sea (according to some sources, the most poisonous in general) is Belchera; a drop of venom from one snake can kill a thousand people (for comparison, the venom of a tiger snake can kill 400 people, a cruel one - 100). True, the Belchera is peaceful and attacks only in extreme cases; death occurs within 1 minute.

Belcher's photo

There is a lot of debate among biologists and specialists about which snake is the most poisonous - some call the Belchera the most potentially poisonous, some say the efu, some say the taipan, a cruel snake.

Result:

“It is definitely difficult to answer which poisonous snake out of all their diversity is most dangerous to humans. Why? Because not only the toxicity of the poison matters, but also the aggressiveness of the snake, the method of attack, the amount of poison injected during the bite, and the location of the teeth.

Putting all the factors together, scientists have identified the most dangerous snake on the planet - the sand epha for the following reasons:

it has killed more people than all other poisonous snakes combined;
every 5th person bitten dies even today, in the age of high medical technologies;
If a person does survive, he will have health problems for the rest of his life. Most often the consequences of a bite sand f-hole have a detrimental effect on the kidneys and liver.”

All snakes are cold-blooded, their body temperature is the same as environment, they are unable to maintain body heat. “Cold, sometimes warm, sticky, slippery” - this is how the reptiles are characterized by those who have had contact with them.

But the main thing is that snakes are always predators, and if some of them are not dangerous to people, they are dangerous to rodents.

Some people keep snakes as pets, while others shudder at just the word. And TravelAsk will tell you about one whose dose of poison can kill 250 thousand mice.

The most cruel snake

Most poisonous snake on a planet that lives on land (and this remark is very important!), it is considered a taipan.

It is also called a cruel snake. This name was not given to it by chance: the amount of poison that the reptile secretes can kill 100 people. Taipans are 50 times more venomous than cobras and 10 times more venomous than rattlesnakes. Potentially, after a bite, death of an adult occurs within 45 minutes.

Potentially why, you ask?

God's peace-loving creature

In fact, the taipan is not aggressive (if left alone) and is very rarely found in areas where people are. And during a bite, it releases only part of the poison. An antidote to snake venom was developed only in 1955; before that, 90% of the “lucky ones” died after meeting a taipan (about 80 people a year).

There are three types of these snakes in nature: the taipan proper, McCoy's taipan and oxyuranus temporalis. The last one was opened in 2007.

The taipan lives in Australia and is also found in New Guinea. That's enough big snake: some individuals reach three and a half meters.

The peak of aggression in taipans occurs during mating, as well as during the period when they change their skin.

How do people die from a taipan bite?

The length of the taipan's teeth is about 13 mm. Its venom glands contain on average about 120 mg of poison, but can contain as much as 400 mg.

If you disturb the peace of a cruel snake, then it becomes very aggressive and fast: if the taipan sees danger, it twists its body and begins to vibrate it, raises its head and shakes it, and then, in a split second, rushes at the enemy and hits him several times.

The venom of this snake is very toxic, disrupts blood clotting and paralyzes the respiratory muscles, as well as muscle contractions. In Queensland, every second person bitten dies.

The story of a snake

Actually about taipans for a long time There were legends, and not everyone believed in their existence, because they had practically no contact with people. The taipan was first described in 1867, and then, for half a century, there was no information about the snake.

The snake was studied in more detail in 1950. Young catcher Kevin Baden caught the reptile on June 28, 1850. However, the guy was unlucky: the taipan bit his finger and he died. But the snake was still delivered to science center.

Clever disguise

There's another one interesting fact about taipans. The snake Tropidonophis mairii or keelback, which belongs to the snake family, lives in Australia. It is not poisonous at all, but is very similar to the taipan. This is an amazing idea of nature, which zoologists call “mimicry”. Friendly and harmless snakes camouflage themselves in this way, hiding from danger.

Sea monster

Remember above we talked about an important note and that the taipan is land? So, there is a snake in the world that is almost 100 times more poisonous than the taipan. It is a sea snake and is called Belcher's snake. A few milligrams of poison can kill a thousand people. However, the snake is peaceful, and most often fishermen suffer from its bite when they take their nets out of the water.

It lives in North America and Southeast Asia. The snake loves reefs very much and can stay underwater for about eight minutes, so it is mainly found there.

The venom contains myotoxin, which destroys muscles. However, when biting, the snake uses no more than a quarter of all its poisonous “reserves”. This is why most people bitten by Belcher's snake survive.

Who else is in the lead?

The top three also included the mulga or brown king, which also lives in Australia. Even a sexually mature individual can cause mortal harm to a person. It is also a very vindictive reptile: there have been cases where the snake chased its offenders, biting them. The third place was taken by the Malayan blue krait. He lives in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The snake hunts its relatives - other snakes. But when meeting people he tries to hide. Krayt venom is 16 times more toxic than cobra venom.