Original subtitles

Today we're going

to be milking five of Australia's most dangerous snake

species, and in doing so, we're going

to calculate how many humans that venom yield could kill.

And in the end, explain to you exactly how

antivenom is created.

I will be working

alongside Billy Collette.

He's a Jedi master in the universe of reptiles

and to date, has milked the venom

from all of Australia's most dangerous snakes,

hundreds of times.

Billy, before we get into the intensity of milking snakes

today, and I have to note to the audience,

it is palpable how dangerous this room feels.

Every one of these containers filled with a snake that

can kill you, but I want to talk real quickly

about the difference between dangerous and deadly

and how with Australian snakes, it all combines together.

Yeah, there's a-- there's a big argument there, I think.

But when it comes to deadly and dangerous,

we look at, dangerous are the ones that kill the most people,

and then deadly being the most toxic.

So, up here, we've got Australia's most toxic snakes.

Right.

A lot of times the dangers versus deadly

breaks down to where a snake is located in its proximity

to humans.

How often you will come across a snake

versus how infrequently you could come across it, correct?

Yeah, Yeah.

So, at the moment Australia's most dangerous snake

is the Eastern brown.

It's not the most toxic, it's number two in the world,

but it bites the most people.

Wow.

OK, so that's because of its proximity to humans.

Yeah.

When it comes to the actual most deadly snake in Australia,

which species would that be?

That's the inland taipan.

And that's the most toxic snake on planet Earth.

OK.

The first one we're going to be taking a look at

is the king brown, this thing is a giant.

The mulga, as it's commonly known.

What do we need to know about the snake?

They've got the biggest

venom yield of any venomous snake on the planet.

What they lack in toxicity, they make up for in volume.

And it's just an overwhelming effect on your system.

And you'll imagine, one of our really big king grounds

can pump out in excess of 800 miligrams in a bite.

You can see, straight away, massive venom

glands on this fella.

Alrighty.

That is such a big snake, OK.

Yep!

Whew, here we go.

King brown, the mulga.

Let's milk it.

He's still popping those fangs.

Wow.

Dang, that's a lot of venom.

So it's still going.

His glands are still--

There probably still 80% full.

So, he's able to control,

in a sense, the amount of venom that he's choosing to give.

And look at that.

It's just locked in place.

He will not let go of that.

There we have it, the king brown, officially milked.

That's one out of five.

And that is an intimidating snake right there.

OK, Billy, king brown is down.

And next up on our list of venomous

danger noodles is the death adder.

The thing I find interesting about death adders

is they've got the fastest strike of any snake

on the planet. Really?

I did not know that.

Yeah, it's-- you can't even see it.

Wow.

Out of all the snakes

I restrained, these guys make me the most nervous.

Because, A, their strike and their bottom jaw

is extremely flexible, like the vipers.

And they get their fangs out the side of them

and work them towards your fingers.

So, I use a three point grip, like I do with all my snakes,

and I just keep that the front of that

head as far away from my fingers as I possibly can.

You guys ready?

Milking the death adder.

Oh, jeez.

I'll jump every time.

It made me jump.

You didn't warn me about that.

You can see just with that leap to grab onto the vile.

The speed, even with your hand controlling it, was fast.

So what sort of prey species are these snakes specializing in?

Using cadual luring like that with the tail?

I imagine, they're drawing in little mammals.

and maybe birds.

Lizards, in particular, small birds.

OK.

Yeah, they love to eat skinks and geckos.

OK.

See, only elapid,

short, thick-bodied elapid.

Mm-hm.

That sits still on the ground

and relies on camouflage, and that ambush attack, you know?

Pretty cool.

So, I wouldn't mind letting

go of the head of this fellow.

Yeah, let's put it him back.

Let's put him back.

So, yeah, with these guys,

the strike is-- is faster than the eye.

So, I've actually got to wait for him to pull away from me

before I can let go, because I literally

wouldn't be able to get my hand out of there fast enough.

Right, so you want his body

tucked back far enough.

I need him to reverse, like he's doing,

before I can actually let go.

All right.

Billy's faster than the death adder.

I like that.

Two snakes down, successfully milked.

Next up is the tiger snake.

This is my favorite snake in Australia.

Wait until you guys get a look at this reptile.

Ooh.

Wild thing, with tiger snakes,

they turn your blood into jelly.

I did not know this.

Your blood turns to jelly?

So coagulates it together.

It coagulates and then it can't actually

move around your body anymore.

So that's what can kill you, if you

don't use first aid with this-- with any of our species,

but yeah.

OK, so don't want to get bit by this one.

Same deal when we get him under the pin pad.

I'll grab the head, you come in, body,

and then block that cloaca.

OK.

Oh, wow, that snake is beautiful.

Yep.

You're good.

Wow.

Pretty strong bodied snake.

Yeah, they are, very thick.

Whoa.

All right, the tiger snake, let's do it.

Yeah, look at that.

There we go.

So you can see it funneling out of that left-hand fang then.

Also a clear venom.

Yep.

Now, like the king brown, is this a snake that's

going to bite and hold on?

Unlikely, unlikely.

More of a bite and let go, and then try and get away,

unless it's grabbed a prey, you know,

lizard or a frog or a little bird or something.

And where are these snakes typically found?

I mean, is this a species that humans are likely to run into?

Not as much as they used to.

There used to be very common along the east coast,

but with urban development and so on,

and their habitat cleared, they're not as common,

but some areas, they are, especially the colder,

more alpine sort of areas, and even islands off

of South Australia in Victoria and Tasmania, and so on.

And he should let go pretty easy.

And that's actually a pretty good yield.

What I'll do is I'll swap you-- OK.

- that. - Got it.

Don't drink it.

Yeah, I will do my best not to, very tempting.

And I'll take this.

And tiger snake, whew.

I'll take him back to the enclosure.

So far, successfully accomplished.

OK, that is three venom vials

successfully accomplished.

Let's see what we're going to milk next.

- Sorry. - Yeah.

Billy, what are you thinking?

I'm just warming up here and picking--

I think I'm going to go with Keith.

Like, all the taipans are pretty jumpy.

And its name is Keith.

Keith, yeah.

OK.

So he's not as reactive usually.

OK.

He's a little bit more behaved,

so I wouldn't mind using him.

Anything we need to know?

Because these are very fast snakes, correct?

So, before antivenom was available,

this species had a 100% kill rate when

they bit someone in Australia.

Whew, OK, so now that antivenom is created

that's not necessarily the case.

So, what you're saying is that if you were ever

to be bitten by a coastal taipan,

it is a 100% death sentence, unless you

receive antivenom treatment.

Yep, yep.

So, you know, normally, as our snakes get more toxic,

the venom yields get smaller.

Not with these guys.

OK.

And their fangs, they've got the biggest fang of any

of our Australian venomous snakes, and one

of the largest venom yields.

OK.

So we are lining up now with a fast snake,

a smart snake, large fangs, large venom

yield and very flighty.

Very flighty.

I'm going to step over here out of the way

and let you do what it is you do.

All right, here we go, the coastal taipan

is coming out of its enclosure.

This is one of the most dangerous situations we're going

to possibly face here today.

Oh, look at that snake.

I'll just get him into that right position.

All right, you're ready to jump on that tail?

Yeah, yeah, you good? Yeah.

OK, that is a very intimidating snake.

That's for certain, look at the size of its head.

Long head. My goodness.

Big eyes, they're

very focused, they're very in tune, they're very smart.

These snakes scare me.

OK.

Out of any of our Australian snakes,

these guys scare me the most and I imagine he'll

be pretty willing to bite this.

And you can see that initial, huge yield.

That is massive.

And look at the fangs.

Jeez.

You're right.

And with the venom

itself, so you know how the tiger snake

causes your blood to clot? - Mm-hm.

This guy does the complete opposite

and your blood thins out to the point where you bleed out

of every orifice, out of your gums, your eyes,

and you know, downstairs. Wow, really?

Just bleeding, yeah.

So you're like internally hemorrhaging if you

get bitten by this snake.

Internally hemorrhaging and then

it paralyzes your diaphragm, so your heart and lungs can't work.

And essentially you'll choke to death on your own blood

eventually.

You just literally just die, yeah.

Wow, OK, that sounds like a horrible way to go.

But, thankfully, the antivenom is fantastic,

and the first aid is just as good, so.

OK, how fast does

something like that set in when it comes to your blood

thinning out?

I mean, how much time would you estimate you have if you're

bitten by one of these snakes?

If you were to get bitten by one,

and do first aid straight away, it would be hours,

usually before you had any symptoms, because that's how

effective those bandages are.

But without a bandage, I reckon based off studies that I know,

you're looking at about half an hour you'd be vomiting blood,

you'd be-- you'd be passing out.

You'd be in a very bad way.

So, a bite from the snake and within 30 minutes you

were going downhill quickly. - Yep.

Wow.

Breaking out in sweats, and just in a very bad place.

Yeah, not a snake you ever want to tangle with.

OK, I imagine you probably want to get this guy back.

Whoa, look at the inside of the mouth.

Yep.

He's looking at us and he's like

''I mean business.''

And there's hundreds of teeth in there,

across that bottom jaw, and the top jaw, for securing rodents,

you know?

And that's what they feed on.

And those massive fangs.

Whew.

So, I'll grab that tail.

Grab that.

Well done.

Whew, that was intense.

And it's not even the most intense snake

that we're going to milk today.

But, wow, I mean, I'm sweating bullets.

I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now, Billy.

I know this is a part of everyday life,

but for us, getting to milk these snakes

and see them up close like that, it's intense.

So, Billy, we have now successfully milked

four snakes.

And it's hard to describe how intense this scenario is.

Getting through four of them, my heart rate

is like, through the roof.

And there'll be days where you're milking several hundred

snakes at a time, correct?

Yeah.

It's heart-pumping stuff, but like the thing

I find is I just can't lose focus.

And if I'm having an off day, I have to call it.

Because there's no point taking the risk with these things.

Especially those taipans.

And as you'll see very soon, the eastern browns

are just so jumpy.

We're about to milk the eastern brown, which

is the most dangerous snake species that we're going

to interact with today, arguably the most dangerous snake species

in Australia.

If the worst-case scenario were to happen,

if you were to be bitten, what is the protocol that you would

go through to save your life?

We have a drill.

And we can go through that drill if you want.

You can be our victim.

Yeah, I'll play the not bitten-by,

but the what-if-bitten-by victim.

Yeah, let's do it.

Let's test out a snake drill.

Where do we start?

Right here with a snake bite bandage.

OK, Billy, let's set up the scenario.

A bite is most likely going to happen right in this vicinity,

if the snake's head wasn't pinned correctly.

So, assuming I was trying to make my move, Ooh, bitten.

Got bitten, Billy.

OK, mate, just move away from the snake.

Come up this way.

Very quietly and calm, straight on--

That was bad.

Take that jewelry off for me, and that sweatband.

Going to get a bandage for you.

Ah!

We're going to go 3 times over your bite site.

It's important to try and get those rectangles into squares

on these type of bandages, because this is actually slowing

down your lymphatic system movement

in this limb, which is what the venom is

actually traveling through.

So it's not in your blood system yet.

OK.

Really important,

you keep that limb straight.

OK.

I'm going to deal with this snake.

So, we've got the snake, he's back in the cage.

I'm going to grab the wheelchair,

and at the same time, I'm going to contact reception.

Billy to reception.

Coyote has been bitten by a tiger snake.

He's got his bandage on and I'm just

transferring to wheelchair now.

The time is 11:09.

Can you please advise Gosford ED that we are on our way?

I'm grabbing the antivenom.

How are you feeling, mate?

Billy, I'm scared and it hurts.

Let me know if you start

to feel nauseous or blurry vision, if you get a funny taste

in your mouth, any of that.

We've got to document any of those symptoms.

Oh, man, I cannot

believe that just happened.

And that got us out here in two minutes

and we'll be at Gosford ER in under 10.

OK, well, that was pretty efficient, between bite, wrap,

wheelchair, out to the vehicle that

would take me to the medical facility, less than two minutes.

And I'll be having help in under 15 minutes.

Yep.

Now, we need to head back inside

and get ready to milk the most dangerous

snake in all of Australia, the one and only, eastern brown.

All right, now, this is a pretty good sized snake, correct?

It's big.

Yeah.

One of the biggest, one of the fastest, one of the most ornery

here in Australia, and the one that's

responsible for biting pretty much more

people than any other species.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

So the eastern brown is now responsible for 65% of snake

bite deaths in Australia. Wow.

This snake is jumpy,

so I'm going to need a bit of space.

And please, don't come in until I've got him proper secure.

And then, I'll call you in obviously, but--

Yeah.

I just need space.

He's big, he's over 6 foot, very jumpy.

OK.

And he'-- he's a wild boy.

OK, eastern brown snake

coming out of its enclosure.

Ooh, that is a big snake.

Whoa, boy, yeah, no, he does not look real happy, does he?

OK, we'll get him over here.

See him flatten out there? Uh-huh.

Strike.

Whoa, oh!

Yeah, he's really quick.

These guys are renown for just going crazy.

Not calculated, though, like a taipan.

They're just consistent with it.

And it's what they use to bluff predators away.

And obviously, he would look at me as a predator, which

is why he's acting like that.

Also--

It's interesting the way

he curls his body into--

Ooh, that was close.

See what I mean?

That sort of stuff.

Straight up at your face.

You OK?

You good? Yeah.

That was intense.

OK, I think we got to get him under control at this point.

And he isn't even one of our jumpiest snakes.

All right.

OK, you good?

All good.

OK.

This is, without question, the strongest snake

that we have held on to today, unbelievably strong.

OK, are you good? - Yeah, man.

All right.

Get him on here.

Right, so you can see tiny yields.

Yeah

But unbelievably toxic.

And how's how they act, like?

Spastic!

They just go nuts.

And for the handler, you got to be confident in yourself,

like reaction speed, not to let go, what you're doing,

your next movement and like I said,

he's not even the craziest.

He's one of the quietest easter browns we've got.

I mean, that was probably the most intense,

fastest move I've ever seen a human make, which

I'm sure we caught on camera.

I mean, he was all the way up by your face,

when he swung his body up.

That was insanity.

He came, mouth open, at my face.

Like, these things do not muck around.

OK, all right, guys, we're going to get the snake back in.

That was a very, very, very intense moment.

You got him? - Yeah.

OK.

Woo!

Nice!

Ooh, man, that-- That was so close.

He went whew.

I bet your heart's

racing right now, isn't it?

I don't really get the adrenaline dump

from that anymore.

My heart's racing for you.

How about that?

I know that sounds stupid, but because I'm so

used to it I'm so programmed.

It's not that I'm not scared or anything.

It's not that, it's just, yeah, it's just part of the job

with with these guys.

Now that we've got our venom lined up,

the next thing I want to do is sit back and take a look

and try to calculate how many people this venom yield added up

would kill.

Billy, I would say that this line up of shots here

before us is arguably the most deadly

five-shot lineup in history.

100%, mate.

So, what we want to do now is go through each one

of these venom yields, and I'm going

to write down your estimate of how many people this would kill.

So, this part of the episode is us figuring out just how deadly

this concoction really is.

OK.

So we're going to start with the king brown.

How many people would you guess that that venom

is capable of killing?

This yield right here.

I would confidently say, that would kill about 40 grown men.

Moving to our second vial here, that is the death adder.

What is your guess, Billy?

How many dead people?

50.

Our third vial belongs to my favorite Australian snake,

the tiger snake.

I'd comfortably say 65, with that.

65 tombstones.

Our fourth vial is the ever-so frisky coastal taipan.

Good size yield.

This is a very dangerous glass in front of us.

And I'd say, in excess of 150, probably more

closer to 200 people.

Wow, all right, I'm rounding up.

We're going, 200 corpses, coming off of that shot glass.

And last but not least, one of the craziest snake

experiences I've ever seen, your interaction

with the eastern brown.

A pretty small yield, but pretty toxic.

That's a big yield for a brown snake.

Oh, that's big? Yeah.

OK.

That's a really big yield for a brown snake.

And that'd be 100 people.

- 100 people. - Yeah.

OK.

40, plus 50, plus 65, plus 200, plus 100.

That is bonkers.

So how much anti-venom could be created from this venom yield

that we have here?

Not much.

So you need about 30 of each to create one vial.

OK.

Yeah.

Now, the work that's being done here at Australian Reptile

Park, this is the only place on the continent where

people are milking snakes and creating

this life saving anti-venom.

Without that anti-venom, people that are bitten by these snakes

every year would not be able to survive.

They say not all heroes wear capes.

This guy doesn't wear a cape, but honestly, he

should have one.

It's impressive, the work you guys are doing here.

And one last thing that I want to answer

for everybody out there watching, how is antivenom made?

It's a crazy process.

But in a quick sum, we milked these five species,

we then freeze-dry the venom, we send it to a lab in Victoria.

They rehydrate it, small amounts, inject it into horses.

So there's taipan horses, black snake horses,

death adder horses, so on.

Different horses designated for different types of venom.

- Yep. - OK.

And they get a tiny injection once a week

for about six months.

Their immune systems are so strong,

they don't even pick up on the effects of that venom.

I've been down there.

They're walking around, eating grass, doing horse stuff.

Yeah.

At the end of the envenomation period,

that six-month mark, they bring the horses in, individually,

to a lab.

They hook them up to this blood machine

and they draw a liter of blood out of them at a time.

They run it in a centrifuge.

During the envenomation process, their immune systems

start to produce venom-resistant plasma.

So, they remove that out of the blood system.

Everything else goes back to the horse.

Horse is fine.

That venom-resistant plasma is antivenom.

They add some proteins to it so the human body

is more likely to accept it.

And, yeah, essentially we take on a horse's immune system,

and our antivenom in Australia, it's the best quality

in the world, and it's free.

So we're one of the very few countries worldwide

that does that.

And here at the Australian Reptile Park,

we are the sole supplier for terrestrial snake

venom for that program.

Very cool.

Well, Billy, this has been unbelievably educational.

It was amazing to watch you work.

Thank you for having us as a part of your day.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.