Most Dangerous Snakes

What does the word snake bring to your mind? A long, slimy creature with a deadly bite, well as popularly believed, not all snakes are poisonous. In fact, there are just about 10 percent from the total types of snakes that are poisonous. Snakes have long been associated with deadly attacks killing its victims, especially be movies such as ‘Anaconda’. Though snakes are baleful, venomous creatures, their existence is extremely important to maintain the ecological balance of the earth. Snakes are, legless, elongate, amniotes covered in overlapping scales. They are found in all the continents except Antarctica, from the deepest jungles to the islands. They have fifteen ‘families’ which comprises of 456 genera and more than 2,900 species. Their size ranges from tiny, 10cm thread like snakes to large pythons which are around 7.6 meters (25 feet) in length.

Here are five most dangerous snakes in world:

1. Philippine Cobra
‘Standing’ proudly on Number 1 is this comparatively smaller yet sturdy brown snake. Never judge it on its size, as this 3 feet reptile has the deadliest venom in the world. Found in open fields and dense forests, its bite has the potential to incapacitate the healthiest of human beings.

2. Cotton Mouth Snake
Cotton mouth snake are dark brown or olive green and may be even solid black in color and are 20-48 inches long, having dark bands around their body. These killers are found in Southeastern half of the United States, common in swamps, wetlands, marshes, rivers, ponds and streams.

3. Belcher’s sea snake
It has thin body and usually yellowish chrome in color. Surrounded by dark greenish bands it can hardly be recognized in dense vegetation. Its length varies from 0.5 to 1 meter. It is commonly found in seas of Indonesia, South Pacific and Philippines near Panay and Visayan islands.

4. Inland Taipan
Inland Taipan is olive and dark brown in color. Average length of taipans is 1.8 meters to a maximum of 3.7 meter and is found in Northern Australia and Southern New Guinea.

5. King Cobra
King cobra is olive, brown and green in color with rings resembling intersecting bands of black. Its typical length is 1 meter with maximum of 1.5 meter. It is one of the most popular snakes in the world, and is found in Sumatra, Southern China, Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sri Lanka and India.

Though not all snakes are dangerous, it’s best to be wary of them and take precautions, especially when you are out in the wild.

Most Dangerous Spiders

Who said the teeny-tiny spiders could not eat up a human being? This is no science fiction but the truth. Nearly all spiders’ are venomous, but just few have the capability to harm humans. Mainly spiders use their poison to paralyze their kill and then consume it, some also use it for self defense. A spider bite can lead to severe symptoms like extreme pain, nausea, swelling and even death. Some spiders possess neurotoxic venom, which affects the nervous system, whilst some have necrotic venom, which damage the tissues surrounding the place of bite. Following are some of the world’s most dangerous spiders:

1. Brazilian Wandering Spider

It is the most venomous spider and is mainly found Central and South America. They hide in shelters during daytime, and roam in the forests during night. At display of threat these spiders raise their body in an upright position and lift its front legs in the air swaying its whole body. They are major cause of human deaths due to spider bite. They do not hesitate to attack anything, which appears to be threatening.

2. Australian Funnel Web Spider

These spiders are found on the eastern coast of Australia. Ranging from 1 to 5 cm in size it is of dark brown or black in color, with a glossy covering. Their fangs are large and strong, pointing straight downwards. The toxins contained in the venom are known as the Atracotoxins. Even if the toxins are not dangerous to wild animals, they are very harmful to humans. Its venom can cause death within 15 minutes of bite.

3. Black Widow Spider

They are glossy black in color and have an hourglass like picture in red color on the thorax. Its venom is of neurotoxin type. The bite is usually not painful, but later swells and fang marks are visible. However, most bites don’t have serious long term effects, but they are known to be fatal.

It is important to have detailed information before dealing with them. Even if small, their venom can easily incapacitate a normal human being.