All language subtitles for B.W.S09E09.Black.vs.Green.Milking.Deadly.Mambas.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

OK.
Ready to go again?

Mm-hmm.

And action.

Over the years, we have milked
venom from all of the world's

most dangerous snakes.

And if you've been
following along

with these crazy
escapades, then you

know that we have strategically
skipped over one of the most

terrifying species, the mamba.

We are back in DeLand, Florida,
at the Reptile Discovery Center.

And as always, we'll be working
with America's favorite snake

expert.

Look at Carl back there
getting warmed up for a morning

filled with fresh snake milk.

In the world of
venomous reptiles,

there is nothing more
terrifying than an angry mamba.

They are fast, strong,
intelligent, calculated,

and armed with a
highly neurotoxic venom

that, if it enters
your bloodstream,

is a guaranteed death sentence.

Now here's something crazy.

Carl has been bitten not once,
but three times by these snakes,

which makes today's
venom-milking episode

the most dangerous one
that we've ever produced.

Hey.
- Hey, Coyote.

How are you doing, man?
- I'm good, Carl.

How are you?
- Welcome.

Welcome.

Good to see you, guys.

Thank you.

We are back and we are
here to milk mambas.

Let's talk mambas for a second
because, generally, people

know there's the black mamba.

Yeah.

They know there's
the green mamba.

But in total, how many
mamba species are there?

Yeah.

So, we really just
say four species.

Three species of
greens and then,

of course, the
infamous black mamba.

They are all African snakes.

They're kind of distributed
in different places

through sub-Saharan Africa.

Although interesting, the black
mamba has the largest range

of the four different snakes.

And the black mamba, as
everybody out there watching

knows, is so revered
throughout its range.

I mean, it's the snake that
truly terrifies people.

I would say of any
snake on the planet,

we hear that people are
more afraid of black mambas

when we're traveling mostly
than any other snake.

What makes a mamba so dangerous?

Yeah.

You're going to see a
little bit of it today.

Black mambas, of course, get
big, you know, almost 12 feet.

That's an enormous, venomous
snake to begin with.

They are terrifically toxic.

Years ago, they would say
before the advent of antivenom,

the black mamba was
100% fatal in a bite.

That's probably
not entirely true.

But no doubt, he's
a hyper toxic,

very large, very active elapid.

So, even though mambas
are, in fact, shy, nervous,

retiring snakes, when people
are forced to interact with one

or inadvertently step on
one or have cornered one,

they become a
formidable adversary

and a really challenging snake.

OK.

Now, the word that you
said in there was nervous.

And I can completely identify
with the nervous nature

of a mamba having worked
with one in the wild.

We did work with a black mamba
in the wild in South Africa.

That's magnificent.

And they keep
you on edge, for sure.

And it's that
nervousness that's very

calculated at the same time.

So in your opinion, when we're
talking one being more dangerous

than the other,
green versus black,

which one ranks as a
more dangerous snake?

Well, as a more
dangerous snake to handle,

certainly the black mamba.

OK.

And then more dangerous, in
general, again, the black mamba.

He's capable of a
large venom yield,

a terrifically toxic venom.

They're a challenge to handle.

As you say, somewhat calculated
and deliberate and terribly

unforgiving of a mistake.

So we were doing
lots of mamba venom

in the late '90s
and early 2000s.

I have been bitten by three
of the four species of mambas.

That's very embarrassing.

OK.

So, let's talk about being
bitten by the green mamba

for a second first.

So, the green mamba was
actually my second mamba bite.

And because of the work
we do with snake venom,

I have become hypersensitive,
allergic to snake venom.

Like you would be to
bee venom, it makes

my work a little trickier.

We have a terrific, what we
call, anaphylactic event.

We tend to treat that on
the way to the hospital,

meet the emergency
services people.

They get an airway
for me, get me going,

and then into the
hospital for antivenom.

But by the time I was
in the hospital bed,

so now we're talking 20,
30 minutes post bite,

I was getting sick.

I was having blurred vision.

I was salivating.

I couldn't get a kind of a
swallowing thing happening.

And so we were already starting
to experience some neurotoxicity

and this kind of thing.

The tissue involvement
and the blood

formations happen later over
the course of the next two days.

So, do you have
mamba antivenom here on site

if the worst-case
scenario were to happen

and heaven forbid you
were to be bitten?

Absolutely.

So we've got a number of
different mamba antivenoms

on site.

Now, my heart is going
faster than normal.

We're in a tight, enclosed room.

There's lots of venomous snakes.

You're telling me this
story about having been

bitten by the snake species.

I know the demeanor
of these creatures.

Do you at all get
nervous in working

with any of these,
especially something

like the mamba coming out today?

No.

Any sense of like
heightened anxiety?

No, but I get hyperfocused.

OK.

You know, the whole thing
that allows us to do our job

is we don't fear the snakes.

We understand them.

But we certainly understand
what's in play and the gravity

of a snake bite.

It's not something
we take lightly.

We haven't had a snake
bite in 16 years.

We've been safe for
a very long time.

We're going to continue
that safety record today.

Moving coming towards you, Mara.

Whoa.

Wow!

It's beautiful.

Ooh.

They really are
spectacular, aren't they?

Pressure.

Don't change anything.

Good.

Whoa!

Tell me when
everybody's good.

I'm good.
Mara, are you good?

Yeah.

So this is the milking
moment right here.

And smaller fangs,
obviously, so you

don't worry about them
necessarily catching a finger,

right?

So as elapids go,
mambas have pretty long fangs,

especially blacks.

And remember, greens
are often arboreal.

They're almost
strictly arboreal.

And so these guys are often
feeding on little birds

and that kind of thing.

And so those longer
fangs help them.

But we're going to
bring them through.

There he goes.

You saw that first little shot.

Yeah.

Again, another.

And another.

Give him one second.

We'll see if he'll bite
one more time for us.

That was crazy how it
shot out of the fangs more

than just a drip.

It was like, poof!

Yeah, you see this
beautiful choot, choot, choot.

You know, again, they'll
give you three or four shots.

And let's see if she'll
go one more time here.

And that's about it.

Yeah, I saw a little
bit on the back side there.

So that's a good
yield for that snake.

We typically plan on about
50 milligrams for a green.

My guess is that's actually
quite a bit more than that.

And, as I said, that beautiful,
slender arboreal snake.

And as elapid go, these guys
are really great snakes.

I mean, that's really a
beautiful, spectacular animal.

It really is.

We'll go back in.

Everybody's good?
Yeah.

OK.
It's open.

Thank you.

OK.

The way
the venom shot out

was much different than we've
seen from some other elapids.

I mean, once that venom goes
in, guaranteed death sentence

without antivenom.

That went pretty
smoothly, I'd say, right?

Good, right?

Yeah.

OK, let's get this venom secure.

We're going to
come back to that.

At the end of the episode,
we're going to tell you guys

how many humans Carl
estimates that yield

would be able to kill.

But first, we got to
talk black mambas.

Yeah, Coyote.

So, the black mamba becomes
kind of a formidable

snake as soon as you
decide that you're

going to interact with them.

Yeah, this snake, like as soon
as we had the flashlight on,

it knew.

OK, I've been spotted.

And as soon as we start
moving stuff, it was like,

get me out of here.

It wanted to get away.

Yeah, right.

Well, there you go.

So, and that they're
always looking for an out

and they're thinking, I
got to get out of here.

Rightly so, right?

They're dealing with this.

So, the thing with
black mambas is

they're somewhat
unpredictable, particularly

when they're restrained.

And so we never
entirely know how that's

going to go in terms
of how much trouble

we're going to have actually
just getting a hold of him

safely.

And when I say "safely,"
that's both for us and for him.

Yup.

We're really
concerned about making sure

our animals are not
hurt in the process

and that they're handled
properly and gently,

but within reason because we
really are paying attention

to what's happening here.

And as you said, the idea
of working an eight-foot

elapid in this area,
that's unhappy.

It's intense.

We did king cobra here
a couple years ago

and that got intense
real quickly.

Don't worry about the camera.

But this is compounded.

Because not only is it a
calculated, highly toxic snake,

but this is another species
that you were bitten by,

and you are very much allergic
to the black mamba venom

as well.

Right.

So black mamba bite
was the first mamba

bite I had, a big nine-foot
male way back in 1997.

How did that happen?

We had actually
collected the snake's venom

and I was returning
the snake to the cage.

And we were somewhat
new to black mamba.

So we had only
been handling them

for about a year at that point.

And I was still gaining
my understanding

there of those guys.

And as I was going
back into his cage,

I had his coils kind of
grouped in this hand.

And I got his head too close.

I went and he stuck
onto that finger.

And they're strong.

So he was able to
just use the momentum

and the power of his body.

Exactly.

And I didn't foresee
it, you know.

He saw that thing.

We always used to say
years ago when we were

doing a lot of mambas,
mambas are terribly

unforgiving of a mistake.

Yes.

They're really
aware of their distances.

They're really aware
of where you are.

And so, the big thing
there is, right,

you're never close enough,
you're never in striking range.

And, of course, I thought I was
controlling the snake's head,

but I wasn't adequately
controlling his head

and so back into this.

So that was it.

And we got some pretty good
venom on that bite and things

began to happen very rapidly.

At that point, I was not
allergic to mamba venom.

So it was a straight
black mamba bite

and we were really able to
document some amazing symptoms.

But black mambas, again,
heavily neurotoxic.

Things began happening
really rapidly.

I was vomiting, blurred
vision, convulsions.

I was having a bronchospasm.

So we had some really
serious symptoms.

One of the good things
about black mamba venom

is it neutralizes well.

So once you're
getting antivenom,

I can remember when they started
the antivenom, wide open I could

almost feel this sensation of,
OK, now we're moving in a better

direction than we were.

So after two days
in intensive care,

things got good very rapidly.

And there's almost no local
issues with mamba venoms,

or at least black mamba venoms.

So we don't see any
tissue involvement

or big hemolytic factors or
hemorrhaging, none of that stuff

like you would be in a
rattlesnake or a viper bite.

So blacks are kind
of purely neurotoxic,

both post and presynaptic.

But that thing can
really get going fast.

OK.

So, care is of the
utmost importance today.

And a couple of years ago,
when we milked the king cobra,

you had this amazing
grab of the snake

after it was just
so rambunctious.

And I said, "Whoa!

Look at the speed!

Carl is faster than the cobra."

We know at one point Carl was
not faster than the mamba.

So hopefully today I can say
Carl is faster than the mamba.

Carl is getting slower.

Yeah.

So, let's get
out the black mamba.

Mara's going to pop back in
and help you wrangle the snake.

We'll get into position.

This is as intense
as it's going to get

today, guys, when it comes
from a danger level situation.

The black mamba
coming out, we've

got to be extremely careful.

So, Carl, we're
under your command.

You let us know where
we need to be and let's

make sure everybody's safe.

OK, great.

Is everybody good?

Everyone's rolling.
You are ready to go.

All good?

I'm hoping he's going to
be in a good mood today.

So we'll see.

Oh, my gosh.

That's a big snake.

He's a monster.

Woo!

Whoa.

Nice.
Hold on just a sec.

OK.

Good.

All right, get him there.

Do you have him?
I do.

OK.

Hold on one second.

OK.

- Can we move now, Carl?
- Yup.

All set.

Everybody's set.

You can be wherever
you want to be.

OK.

Put that over there.

See, this is
what I experienced.

They coil up and
they are so strong.

That's the one
thing that I did not

anticipate with
the black mamba, is

its ability to coil around you.

And when I was presenting
the snake on camera,

the only thing I was thinking
is that if I lost control

of the snake and, remember,
we had it in a tube,

so I felt much more in
control than you are now.

If you lost control, that
snake would be latched to you.

100%.

And, as you said,
if he's wrapped

up around you, getting rid of
him presents a very real issue.

So, it's one of the reasons we
stopped going back into the cage

and we started just going
into a transfer camp.

OK.

So you can see
he's ready to bite.

He never fully understands
this restraint thing.

Is everybody good
for him to bite?

Yeah.
- Everybody good.

Everybody's good?

Yeah, yeah.

There he goes again,
wicked shot right there.

Wow.
So fast.

Wicked shot.
Good.

Another shot.
Look at that.

Just the bite and release.

And it can control how much
venom it's giving, correct?

Totally metering what
it's giving me, absolutely.

And we think that process
is largely cognitive.

And he's deciding, I'm
going to give you this,

I'm going to give you this.

And mambas, again,
especially blacks

and westies, really famous
for these shots at a time.

A little bit, a little bit.

We'll get them
again in one second.

Wow.

Mara, are you good?

It is the intensity
that the venom shoots up

that you can
understand how quickly

then that gets into your body.

It's a millisecond, right?

It's a millisecond.

With blacks, I can remember
on my bite moving to the sink

to wash my hands.

You always take a
minute to decide

if the bite is actually hot.

And all of a sudden, my
lips start going numb.

My face is tingling.

I was maybe 20 seconds
into that snake bite

and I remember
thinking, here we go.

And hot means you've got
venom in your body, correct?

We've definitely
got a hot bite, right.

So one more shot.

Perfect.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, that was even a decent
amount of venom right there.

Yeah, so that's
really a good yield.

We're probably
looking at 150 migs

there, which is about what
we like for an adult black,

about there.

And he really did
a good job today.

All right.

I'm going to just back up out
of the way a tiny bit there.

Perfect.

So, Mara, you're going to
go back to your grab stick.

I'll be right here.

Yeah, good.

And then will you do me a favor?
- Yeah.

See that garbage can
right next to you, Coyote?

This one?

Take all that
stuff off it, yup.

And you're just going to
put it down there by Mara.

Mm-hmm.

Awesome.

Great.

Lid off the top?

Yep.

Yes, please.
- Perfect.

OK.

So I'm pressuring now.

Yup.

And you've got him?
- I've got him.

Good.

Now hold on one second.
Good.

I'm going to let him go.

I've got him.
Thanks, Mara.

OK.
I'm letting go.

Yup.

Grab that.

That's a lot of snake.

Hold on.

Wait, hold on.

Ooh!

Thanks, Coyote.

Mm-hmm.

And that's where I say
Carl is faster than the mamba.

Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

That was intense!

The snakes are back
in their enclosures.

So we feel a little bit
safer at this point.

But we've still got two very
toxic cocktails in front of us,

the green mamba venom,
the black mamba venom.

And Carl, this is the part of
the episode where we add up

the number of what I like
to call tombstones in regard

to snake venom yield.

Talk to us about these yields.

And then we would love
to hear your estimate as

to how many humans this
yield plus this yield

would be capable of killing.

So let's talk about this
one and then that one,

and then we'll add them up.

OK, Coyote.

So, when people talk
about dangerous snakes,

there are really two
parts to that, maybe

three parts to that equation.

One part of that equation
is venom toxicity.

So we know that mambas really
rank up in the upper toxicities

of snake venoms, right?

So as elapids, cobras, and
mambas, and all these snakes go,

coral snakes, mambas
are right up there.

The next part of the danger
equation is venom yield.

And this has to do with how
much venom does the snake put

out in an average snake bite.

And so we're going
to talk about mamba

venoms here, the East
African green and the black.

The East African green
yield is about 50 milligrams

of venom on an average yield.

Now, remember, we had that
snake bite multiple times.

And it's got a
pretty low viscosity.

This does.

So some mamba venoms tend
to be pretty light, pretty

almost watery, whereas
lots of our cobra venoms,

this kind of thing, tend
to be really viscous.

King cobra venom is
almost like maple syrup.

All of that plays a role in how
the venom spreads in the body.

But so in the green mamba
yield, now remember,

he bit two or three
times on this thing.

We wind up with about
50 milligrams of venom.

And we think that a
guesstimate on green mamba

lethal dose is
probably somewhere

in the neighborhood of 10
or 15 milligrams of venom.

Wow.

So, this would be probably
in the neighborhood of three,

four lethal doses of
venom, something like that.

OK.

Four tombstones off of
the green mamba bite.

Now black mamba, bigger
snake, bigger yield.

Sure.

And a greater toxicity.

So black mamba venom, we
think probably somewhere--

a lethal dose is
probably somewhere

between 5 and 10 milligrams.

To give you a sense of that,
that would be like five or 10

grains of salt in your hand.

That's a lethal dose
of black mamba venom.

Again, we had that snake
bite more than once.

He gave us about two
or three shots in here.

But we're looking at about
200 milligrams in that

draw right there.

So of those shots,
we were looking

at probably 50 milligrams,
50 milligrams, 60

milligrams, this kind of thing.

We wound up with a total
yield of about 200 milligrams.

So, in the case of black mamba
venom, if we were to say,

well, 10 milligrams
is lethal, and I think

that's probably high, we
would be looking at 20

lethal doses of venom here.

And if we cut that in half,
40 lethal doses of venom.

And, again, we were talking
about danger and yield

being a part of that.

So a big king cobra might give
you 1,200 milligrams of venom

for maybe 60 lethal doses.

OK.

So, even though it's
quite a bit less toxic

than the black mamba, the king
cobra, or at least less toxic,

huge amounts of venom.

Or an Eastern diamondback where
you might get 10 lethal doses

of venom in one shot
because it's way less

toxic, but lots more venom.

Does that make sense?

Makes complete sense.

So, it has to do with the
level of toxicity, the yield,

and I imagine the last part then
becomes the snake's proximity

to humans and how often you may
or may not encounter that snake.

Exactly.

Based on where
it is that you live.

So, what we're ultimately
able to surmise here

is that a mamba bite is a
guaranteed death sentence

without antivenom, regardless.

It doesn't matter if
it's going to kill

four people or 20 people.

You are one single
individual person.

And if you are bitten by
either of these snakes,

it's a medical emergency.

No question
a medical emergency

and potentially, depending on
how much venom he injected,

lethal.

Yes, absolutely.

So what
happens with this venom

now that we've milked it?

Where does this go specifically?

So the venom
here will be filtered.

It'll be cleaned
up a little bit.

It'll be frozen
and then it'll be

freeze-dried into a powder
form, into a powdered substance.

And once we have it in
that freeze-dried form,

it can be stored for
literally decades.

All of our mamba venom is
going to research applications.

We are not producing
these venoms

particularly for antivenoms.

Some of the labs
around the world

are producing venom specifically
for mamba antivenom.

We don't do that here.

Our mamba venoms are
produced for research,

and a good part of it is in
the United States or Europe.

Right.

And when it comes to
antivenom and its availability

based on where you live.

So here in the United States,
the snakes we can come across,

antivenom is produced
that specifically

can help people if they are
bitten by those species local

to them.

But in a country like
South Africa where you've

got a lot of these snakes,
depending on where you live

could be a big difference
as to whether or not you can

even get antivenom, correct?

Yeah.

You know, I think the African
continent is really a good place

to think about the disparity in
snake bite treatment worldwide.

So we still see
tens of thousands

of deaths from snake bite in
places like sub-Saharan Africa

and places like
Southeast Asia and parts

of central America
and South America,

where medical care
may be days away.

And, in fact, when
the individual

gets to where they're
going, there may not

even be antivenoms available.

So it's
not even guaranteed

that if you are in Africa
and you were bitten by mamba,

that the medical
facility you got to may

not even have mamba antivenom.

It may not even
have mamba antivenom

and the medical facility may,
in fact, be two days away

from where you are out in
the bush working with animals

or whatever it is
you're doing out there.

So proximity is--
It's key.

Proximity is everything.

And, you know,
developed countries,

we have an incredible
luxury and access

to medical care and access
to antivenom and snake bite.

Well, Carl, the work that's
being done around the world,

specifically the things that
you and Mara are doing here

to milk snakes and then
ultimately have that venom be

produced into
antivenom, is saving

lives on a daily basis,
thousands of lives

every single year.

So thank you for all
the continued work

that you're doing.

Thank you, sir.

Thanks again, as
always, for having us

out here to the Reptile
Discovery Center.

Getting to milk the
mambas today was certainly

the top level of venomous
snakes that we could

have done a venom episode.

Glad you guys enjoyed it.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.

That was good.

We made through it.

Snake bites seriously
injure or kill over 600,000

people worldwide every year.

How crazy is that?