Indian Cobra Courtesy of Wikipedia user Kamalnv
The big four venomous snakes in Asia are the four snakes that are most common to kill. These snakes are all quick to bite and can be deadly in a very short period of time. What truly makes the big four dangerous, however, is the fact that they are all found in and around the human population. This leads to more venomous snake bites than in most countries, and in turn, more deaths.
- The Indian cobra (Naja Naja)
- The Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus)
- The Russell’s Viper (Daboia Russelii)
- The Saw-Scaled Viper (Echis Carinatus)
Each of these powerful venomous snakes are capable of killing a human, and each of them can be readily found throughout the cities of India. These venomous snakes are kind of a win/lose situation for the residents there – on the one hand they keep the vermin population in check, and on the other they are deadly if you are bitten. Anti-venin is available widely throughout India in the event of a snake bite, and is a must if you are bitten by these big four snakes.
You will notice that the lengendary king cobra is not on this list of the big four. The reason? The king cobra is a reclusive snake that is content to hang out in the jungle. For this reason, they do not come in contact with the people of India nearly as often. Therefore they are not as dangerous. A bite from a king cobra is as deadly as they come, but they are just much rarer.
Here are some interesting notes about each of the big four venomous snakes of Asia:
The Indian Cobra – also called a monocled cobra. The Indian cobra is the cobra of legend that has a pair of monocled glasses on it’s back. They are quite venomous, and will bite readily if you surprise or harrass them. This is the snake that is used by snake charmers in India.
Russell's Viper Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons User Saleem Hameed
The Russell’s Viper – This snake is one of the most feared snakes in Asia. One reason is because the snake is so tough to see, and so quick to bite. They will strike without warning, and deliver a highly potent painful deadly snake bite. The Russell’s viper is no joke in India.
The Saw-Scaled Viper – This little buggar is interesting in that it sounds much like a small rattlesnake. The sound that it makes comes from rubbing it’s own scales against one another to create a buzzing noise. This noise is sure to get people’s attention in India as they know the danger of this highly aggressive viper.
The Common Krait – Another potentially deadly snake that is famous in India. It appears this
Saw Scaled Viper
snake is prone to climbing into bed with you in pursuit of a rodent or other vermin. This is not a nightime surprise I would want to experience. The common Krait is a beautiful but potentially deadly reptile.
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