Snakes cause an estimated 100,000 deaths a year. But the way some snake venom delivers its deathly blow is actually a lot stranger than you may realize.
In the name of science, presenter Maddie Moate donates a spoonful of blood and mixes it with some haemotoxic venom belonging to a saw-scaled viper, usually found in the dry regions of Africa, the Middle East, and India. These snakes don’t have a drastically potent venom, however, they are responsible for the highest amount of snake-bite deaths in the world due to their moody, irritable temperament and the fact that they are often found near communities who can’t afford or access medical attention.
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Check out what happens to this blood-venom cocktail in the BBC Earth Unplugged video below.
