Did You Know?
- The Death Adder will strike instantly if disturbed…so watch out!
- These deadly snakes can be found in the wet and dry eucalyptus forests of Australia
- The Death Adder is fearless, occasionally feeding on the deadly Cane Toad, which sometimes leads to their own surmise
- Today’s featured snake was also a well-known villain in the Marvel Comics (tried to kill Captain America and appeared in The Avengers series)
Where in the World are Deadly Snakes?
Much like the rest of the snakes this week, the Death Adder is one of the most venomous snakes in the world and not surprisingly they can be found throughout parts of Australia and New Guinea. Ironically, the Death Adder is not actually related to the other adders, even though they look similar in appearance. So who are these snakes related to? Well, believe it or not, they are members of the Cobra family, so I guess it shouldn’t surprise us when we talk about how deadly these animals can be. I guess this brings us to our next question:
How Deadly is the Death Adder?
Let’s just say that a teeny, tiny bite from this viper will cause a very, very unpleasant experience. This venomous reptile is capable of delivering 40 to 100 mg of deadly toxin with every single bite. So what does this mean for the victim? Well, if you are a small rodent, it is a quick, certain death, however, if you are a large human then it is a painful, agonizing and possibly slow death. The issue with the Death Adder’s deadly neurotoxin is that at first it seems like a simple paralysis of your body (if there is such a thing as a simple paralysis), however, within 6 hours there is a pretty good chance that your respiratory system will shut down and it will be game over.
Luckily there is an anti-venom so I suggest getting your hands on some of this magical potion if you ever get bitten by one of these deadly snakes. The success rate of this anti-venom is quite high, which is good since prior to this medical invention the death rate for Death Adder bites was greater than 50%…so not very good odds.
