The Inland Taipan also referred to as the Western Taipan or small-scale snake is a venomous snake found in the semi-arid regions of central Australia. The snake was first described by Fredrick McCoy around 1879 and then it remained the mystery to the scientist for more than 90 years. This is until the year 1972 when it was rediscovered.
The fierce snake is the most venomous snake in the world. This was done by measuring the amount of venom and its effect, of the snake and compared to the other species. If you were to measure the venom drop by drop of all the snakes in the world, the fierce snake leads. When the venom is tested on a human heart cell culture, it has the most toxic venom than any other reptile. The fierce snake is adapted to hunt mammals thus the venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded animals.its LD50 test (median lethal dose) for mice is 0.025 mg/kg.
The bite of the fierce snake on a human can kill in less than 45 minutes if it’s not treated. The venom in one bite is enough to kill one hundred fully grown men. It very fast and agile and can repeatedly strike the same place with high accuracy and be releasing venom each time.
Despite being the most deadly and venomous snake, the fierce snake is rather shy and always escapes any trouble. However, if it’s prevented from escaping, mishandled or provoked, it will strike. Due to the location, they are in, they rarely come into contact with humans. This makes it not to be the most deadly snake in the world especially if the number of death per year is used. The word fierce in the name is a description of its venom and not the temper.
The fierce snake has a length of 1.8 meters. The fierce snake have seasonal adaptations and change their color in different seasons. They tend to look darker during the winter and lighter during the summer. This helps them in regulating their internal body temperature. Their fangs are between 3.5 to 6.2 mm long.
The fierce snake mainly consumes rodents, such as rats. Unlike other snakes that strike then wait for the venom to take effect, the fierce snake strikes the pray accurately with a series of rapid strikes. With every bite, they deliver eight venomous bites on the prey. Another attack strategy is to hold the prey with its body and biting it over and over again.
The king brown snake is immune to venom and is known to eat young fierce snake. The perentie which is a large monitor is also known to eat the fierce snake.
The reproduction of the fierce snake depends on the diet. They will reproduce less if there is less food and more if there is sufficient food. They lay eggs which will take two months to hatch. They lay their eggs in abandoned burrows or caves. They can live for more than twenty years. This is more compared to normal snakes that live for between ten to fifteen years.
Don’t worry about encountering this venomous snake as the chances are very low. This is due to the fact that they spend most of their time under the ground. Unless you create too much vibration or noise, they are not bothered by human presence. They make their threat display by raising their forebody in an S-shaped curve if you see this get away.
When a human being gets bitten by the fierce snake he/she has the following symptoms; headache nausea, vomit, dizziness and abdominal pains. If it’s not treated, it will cause body organs to fail and finally death.
See Inland Taipan snake on this video.