Of all the elapids I've worked with, my favorite still remains the various king cobra species (yes, there is more than one species in this widespread genus). They are such intelligent animals and truly wonderful. Most of the kings I've worked with have been the Malaysian species, they are in my opinion on the of the prettiest of the lot. Some specimens are a gorgeous gold and silver combination.

The old snake-charmer tricks don't work on king cobras. A regular cobra (Naja species) will follow a moving object for hours. Wave a bag at a king cobra and it will look at the back, then your arm, follow the arm up to the body and then go for your chest.

Tim Jackson and I unpacking a newly arrive Javanese king cobra (Ophiophagus sp.). You can see it hooded up and ready to go inside the bag.

One of our green mambas (Dendroaspis angusticeps). The colouring of these animals has to be seen in the flesh to be properly appreciated.

The 3FTx (three-finger toxins) in mamba venom are some of the most specialised, having evolved new and extremely divergent activities. These toxins have been tremendously useful in investigating human physiology due to some having extremely high specificity for a type of postsynaptic nerve receptor called muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. The specificity of these toxins has been used to actually disc over new receptors, in fact mos t of the muscarinic sub-type receptors known to-date were discovered by fishing with mamba toxins. This is is a nice demonstration of the usefullness of venoms. Neurotoxicity seems to be a favorite trick of venomous animals and quite a number of different neurotoxicity strategies have evolved.

One of our Malaysian kraits (Bungarus candidus). These snakes are extremely unpredictable. Typically kraits are mellow during the day and demons at night. This doesn't mean you should treat it blithely during the day. The extreme toxicity of all kraits combined with antivenoms against one species having virtually no effect against the venom of other krait species (and even so-so effects against the same species) means that even with treatment, a decent proportion of the bites are lethal.

Me with one of our monocled cobras (Naja kaouthia).

I have a particular fondness for taipans, they are such intriguing animals. Far more alert than the average snake and certainly a handful to work with.

One of our taipans (Oxyuranus scutellatus), this particular one is from Papua New Guinea and has been given the subspecies designation of Oxyuranus scutellatus canni. Taipan fangs get so long that they actually wear holes in the floor of the bottom job. Big snakes can even be miked without even opening the top jaw! These long fangs combined with massive venom yields and a tendency for multiple bites is what makes taipans the worlds most dangerous snakes and possessing some of the most potent venoms. Indeed, the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) has venom more toxis than any other snake in the world, land or sea.

RETURN TO VENOMDOC.COM