Snakes are awesome reptiles. They kill their prey by constriction, by injecting venom or both. In this paper, three of the world’s deadliest snakes will be featured. They are Black Mamba, Inland Taipan and Green Anaconda. They live in different parts of the world and will attack when they feel threatened.
Black Mambas are the fastest land snakes. They live in savannahs, woodlands and rocky slopes of Southern and Eastern Africa. They are greyish brown in colour. The black in their name comes from the colour inside their mouth, which it uses to scare its predators. The Black Mamba weighs around 1.6 kilograms and is around 4.3 meters in length. Their diet includes mice, squirrels, rats and bats. They can slither up to 19 kilometres per hour. When they attack their prey, they often strike several times in a row. Two drops of Black Mamba’s venom is enough to kill a person.
The Inland Taipan is an extremely venomous snake that lives in desert climate in the far Southwest Queensland and northwest South Australia. They weigh up to two kilograms, are around two meters in length and are light brown in colour. They eat long-haired rats and house mice. The Inland Taipan is not often seen in the wild because of its remote habitat. However, when it attacks, a single bite has enough venom to kill 100 adult men. Wow!
The Green Anaconda is the world’s biggest snakes as they weigh up to 250 kilograms. Their length is the same as five adults lined up horizontally. They are olive green in colour, and they live in swamps, marshes and streams in South America. They hunt wild pigs, deers, birds, turtles, capybaras and jaguars. It’s not common, but did you know that Green Anacondas eat and get eaten by jaguars? This special snake kills by constriction and is non-venomous. Their nostrils are on top of their heads to help them breathe underwater. Because they are good swimmers, it allows them to camouflage in water while they are hunting. In fact, they can hold their breath for up to 10 minutes.
Snakes can be venomous or non-venomous. There are around 700 species of venomous snakes in the world. Around 250 of these can easily kill a human with one bite. Interestingly, snakes are one of the few animals that can kill by constriction. That’s pretty special!
