Slither Into 8 Stories About Snakes

[Music] foreign [Music] as a firefighter back in 1989 the majority of his job was focused on fire rescue however in recent years his job has expanded in recent years new houses in bangkok have been built in areas where snakes were more common which means snakes are slithering their way into houses on a more regular basis [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] this is the rally's palm pit viper and it's as dangerous as it is rare there are 10 species of palm pit viper that inhabit the cloud forests of central america but of all of them the rallies is the most rare and elusive it can only be found on three isolated mountains in southern mexico brilliant green and slender these vipers will spend most of their lives coiled quietly in trees and other vegetation they are not aggressive by nature but will strike if disturbed a bite from a rallies is not likely to be fatal to humans but be warned no specific antivenom exists for this extraordinary species of snake while not necessarily a threat to us those that should be worried are the small mammals and tree frogs that the viper preys upon those that stray too close will meet a swift and silent end but even these venomous predators can't stave off bigger threats deforestation and over-collection for the pet trade are perilous threats for this rare animal this is the rally's palm pit viper this is the massasauga rattlesnake it is ontario's only venomous snake but it's more scared of humans than we are of it massasaugas aren't very large growing up to three feet in length their skin is grey to dark brown dappled with darker splotches along its back their tails rattle as a warning yet they won't strike unless they have no choice that's because massive sagas are shy and prefer to hide than bite their enemies unfortunately they can't hide from encroaching human development which combined with intentional killings from over-exaggerated fear have caused a large decline in its canadian population this is the massasauga rattlesnake [Music] the snake oil salesman the phrase is often used to characterize grifters and con artists but where did the saying come from well the story starts in the 1800s chinese immigrants working on the first transcontinental railroad would rub snake oil on their skin to treat joint pain westerners eventually caught on and marveled at its apparent healing powers while some admired it others saw opportunity in comes clark rattlesnake king stanley he was a self-proclaimed cowboy and so-called expert in traditional native american medicine looking to make a quick buck he teamed up with a boston druggist and began marketing clark stanley's snake oil liniments the miracle medicine promised to heal your rheumatism neuralgia sciatica lame back lombago toothache sore throat animal bites gungan disease alright that last one isn't real but who cares this sucker would fix anything that ale did clark took his product on the road visiting fairs and put on elaborate spectacles in front of a hungry crowd during one show he squeezed a snake to death and bottled up its residue while some were mesmerized others were skeptical after seeing the injustices made to public health famous muckraker samuel hopkins adams investigated the fraudulent patent medicine industry and wrote the watershed expose the great american fraud this led to the federal government seizing a shipment of the snake oil and analyzing it they found out that it was made of mostly just mineral oil the quack medicine industry came to an end when the pure food and drug act was passed the fed slapped clark with a 20 fine and he promptly closed up shop though samuel exposed the frauds clark stanley had the last laugh [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is a louisiana pine snake if we didn't show it to you you'd probably never see it or its distinct yellow and brown splotch scales it's one of the rarest snakes in north america the louisiana pine snake can grow up to six feet long it's not poisonous it's a constrictor it wraps its prey and suffocates them its known habitat is estimated to be less than 200 square miles in the longleaf pine forests on the louisiana texas border a habitat that is only three percent of its once massive size it's almost impossible to spot in the wild because the snake spends its time below ground moving through the tunnels of its rodent prey but when it pokes its head above ground its habitat is in steady decline fewer trees mean fewer rodents barring beneath and that means fewer pine snakes and with encroaching human development the ever-present threat of being crushed under road traffic looms this is louisiana pine snake so we have about 500 venomous snakes in the serpentine avid of any of these venomous snakes could kill you that's why we're working here we are collecting venoms to prevent them [Music] my name is aron gomez i'm the coordinator of the segmentary so this is a central american coral snake you get beat you can stop breathing and die this is a neotropical rattlesnake if bites you you can die after several minutes [Music] so it's estimated that around 800 000 to 1 million people are getting bitten by venomous snakes every year we need snakes in order to produce anti-venom there are no many labs making that anti-venom just like six we estimate to produce around 100 000 vials per year [Music] so we handle the snake we apply some massage in the muscles of the head and then we collect the venom in this kind of special flask then we process the venom we press dry and then we collect the venom in powder form and that venom is going to use to produce the anti-venom if you get this by a viper or a coral snake in america or in central america the chances that you're getting anti-venom produced by institute are very very high this is terciopello and this one can kill you like drop that kill you most of the people just fear their snakes let's say that i'm not afraid but i have respect of the snake and you've never been bad i never made me thank god [Music] meet onyx a five-year-old eastern indigo snake [Music] at nine feet in length eastern indigos are considered to be the longest native snakes in the united states even though they lack a venomous bite they can fall victim to overzealous rattlesnake hunters as they inhabit the same burrows their beautiful smooth scaled skin is a shade of bluish black carnivorous like all snakes onyx feeds on any small animal she can overpower onyx may hiss or rattle her tail when alarmed but she'll hardly ever bite like most snakes humans are their biggest threat as continued urbanization has left them threatened throughout parts of the united states this is the eastern indigo snake this is the giant garter snake they are endemic to the central valley wetlands of california and considered an aquatic species but with the loss of wetlands in the region the gardea snake is no longer found in 98 of the areas it once resided in [Music] considered the largest of the garda snake family they can grow to be more than five feet long [Music] while they are venomous creatures they pose no risk to humans their mild venom subdues its prey which consists mainly of fission frogs these snakes are brown or olive colored but can easily be spotted by their yellow stripes they are secretive and difficult to approach and are known to dive into water before an observer can get too close [Music] conservation efforts to create artificial wetlands are underway to try and restore their dwindling populations this is the giant gardener snake you

Channel: Great Big Story

Views: 140,325

Keywords: great big story, gbs, lag, documentary, docs, snakes, serpent, viper, poison, snaky, New Releases, Great Big Reels, Planet Earth, Nature & Animals

Id: EOiOPvf5cQw

Length: 12min 56sec (776 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 17 2019