Nature
PUBLISHED
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.
Check out what happens to this blood-venom cocktail in the BBC Earth Unplugged video below.
