Why Australia's Snakes Are So Much More Venomous Than Everywhere Else
TheWildExplainer
7,282 views
Australia has 20 of the world's 25 most venomous land snakes, including all 11 deadliest, yet only 2 people die from snakebite a year. The film follows 20-year-old Kevin Budden's fatal coastal taipan bite at Cairns in 1950 and how the live snake he sent to Melbourne became the first taipan antivenom. It explains LD50, elapid evolution, why brown snakes cause 60% of deaths, and how pressure immobilisation and CSL antivenom changed survival.
6 Comments
Why Australia's Snakes Are So Much More Venomous Than Everywhere Else
TheWildExplainer
7,282 views
Australia has 20 of the world's 25 most venomous land snakes, including all 11 deadliest, yet only 2 people die from snakebite a year. The film follows 20-year-old Kevin Budden's fatal coastal taipan bite at Cairns in 1950 and how the live snake he sent to Melbourne became the first taipan antivenom. It explains LD50, elapid evolution, why brown snakes cause 60% of deaths, and how pressure immobilisation and CSL antivenom changed survival.