Taipan

An Inland Taipan aka The Fierce Snake

Taipans belong to the Oxyuranus genus. Currently, there are three known species of this Australian snake: Inland (Oxyuranus microlepidotus,) Coastal (Oxyuranus scutellatus,) and Central Ranges (Oxyuranus temporalis.) These snakes subsist mainly on rats, followed by birds, lizards and smaller marsupials. Most adults reach a length of 8 or 9 feet (2.5 to 3 meters.)

Inland Taipans have the most powerful land snake venom known to man, with the other varieties following close behind. This venom acts both as a neurotoxin and as a powerful blood clotting agent, rapidly destroying the cardiovascular system. Until an antivenom was developed, bites from the snake were always lethal. Even today with proper medical treatment, victims must be hospitalized for some time before they recover completely.

Taipans are often compared to Africa’s Black Mamba. as both snakes like to live in sugar cane fields, and they both hunt using stealth, getting a swift venom injection into an animal and waiting for it to die before feeding. However, the Australian snake is far less dangerous than its cousin, as it is only found in the most remote areas and prefers to slither away when provoked. Although there’s an average of around 40,000 deaths due to snake bites each year, this Australian species is only responsible for two or three of these. In the past eight years, all confirmed bites from the Inland variety have happened to herpetologists (snake scientists,) and each time the bite was successfully treated with antivenom.

Ironically, this shy behavior makes these snakes difficult to study. The Central Ranges Taipan is a recent discovery, with the just two examples having been found since it was identified in 2007.