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It's the 4th most venomous now tests have been completed on the Western Desert Taipan, which is rated at at 3. The Coastal Taipan is also found in the top North of WA.
Questioning the introduction of the cane toad Bufo marinus, released at Gordonvale 1935 after 15 months of practical research at Meringa Sugar Experiment Station. Gordonvale Qld. i know cane toads were supposedly released to iradicate the cane beetle, but have always wondered were cane toads introduced to eradicate taipans, as the Pacific Island Kanaka cane cutters were truely frightened by these snakes that they frequently saw in their daily work.
@@iansingsiansings2101 we actually have a few videos on cane toads The spear to have had little to no effect on fresh water turtles, intact several turtle species may have increased in number as the goannas (who feed on their eggs) where killed by toads
Also, in Norman Park Gordonvale, there is "Cane Toad World" theme playground with several giant toads and one huge snake made of concrete for children to climb and play on. It seems strange to me that Research Scientists could study the toads for 15 months and not realise their ineffectiveness on the cane beetle and not know of the potential to impact on their predators.
This is my favourite snake in Australia. The first time I ever saw a wild taipan was one of the most exciting times of my life. Truly Australia's ultimate snake.
About twelve years ago I was solo driving along a remote sandy 4x4 track in coastal Central Queensland. Along one section of the track , every time I rounded a bend , a Taipan would slither off the track into the bush . I must have seen a dozen snakes in the space of a kilometre . I also noted numerous snake tracks in the sand on straight sections of the track. I decided it was not a place I wanted to get stuck or break down and decided look for a less isolated fishing spot .
Taipans, we sure are known here in Australia for having these guys and l always have to have a giggle, as many think they are all around us here, everytime we walk out our backdoor.
I came face to face with a massive one of these when brushcutting lantana, deep in a rainforest gully. I was on an extremely steep river bank, about 6 metres high. I was standing on a cattle trail, and my head and shoulders were in line with another cattle trail. The snake was in a burrow on the cattle trail where my head and shoulders were, directly in line with my face, about a foot away...(!!)...I have never seen anything so intense as looking into those eyes in that location. I froze, which was the exact right thing to do, I learnt, and let my feet slide off the lower cattle trail, taking my chances with the super steep cattle trail and brushcutter. I was SO Lucky to survive!!......as I was an hour or so from the nearest hospital, with 100s of metres to travel up a steep hill to even get back to the ute.... Hectic!!......
Hats off to you and all Coastal Taipan handlers. I got close to a good size one and that snake was fast. The scary thing with me is as a kid I would have 100% free handled it like I did with Easter Browns in Adelaide. I doubt I would have been fast enough! I was crazier back then but you need to be skilled with a taipan if its skitchy like the snake I did a youtube on a month ago. So hats off to you mate. Andre
A place I used to board at, about 100 km inland from Brisbane in the 1970s, had one of these who would occasionally take up residence in their greenhouse, they loved him, because he kept the rats and mice under control, they put a nice flat rock in the greenhouse for him to bask on and called him Fred. Fred was as mellow a snake as you would hope to meet. I never felt I was in any danger from him. I guess he reciprocated, because we could get quite close to him, but never too close!
We live on a pineapple farm in South East Queensland and saw a big Coastal Taipan on our driveway today. A lot of people would have run it over but I hit the brakes and slammed the car into reverse and he slithered off into the pineapples. I'm always watchful and if I don't attack them they won't attack me. Beautiful snake but very dangerous.
Brilliant work Nick! You are absolutely right that a lot of us have been waiting for this episode, me very much included! Coastal Taipans are among my favorite snakes, even though they are quite temperamental at times, I find them fascinating and they’re on my bucket list to handle one day. You did a great job covering them as always, and I learned a ton. I can’t wait for more from you! Do you still have your Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo? I think that would be a cool episode to see, it’s been a long time since we’ve gotten an update on them. Cheers Nick! - Harrison and Evan
What is your metric for "snake of snakes"? aggression? LD50 venom toxicity? population? aggression x toxicity? large population x aggression x toxicity? etc etc etc
@@DaveWhoa What coastal taipans are the snake of snakes for is untreated mortality rate, making them literally the most lethal snake bite in the world (in a world without medical treatment). The black mamba (imo) comes a very close second with both around 100% untreated mortality rate for bites. Notice I'm saying "bites" and not "envenomation", as these two snakes also don't do dry bites, making virtually all bites an envenomation also. Compare to other land snakes that have drop-for-drop more potent venom: *Inland taipan (80% untreated mortality rate, most potent venom in the world and also 80% wet bites). *Eastern brown (15% untreated mortality rate, second most potent venom of land snakes but with many bites being dry or not deliverying much yield. They tend to start with dry bites then go to wet as they keep tagging, so if you only get tagged once by an eastern brown low on the leg, there is a high chance you've got a dry bite. But even if you get tagged twice, there is still a high chance you've only received a relatively very small yield). So based on what we know of untreated mortality rates, drop-for-drop toxicity doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to how lethal untreated bites or envenomations are, as other factors are also at play such as venom yield and venom viscosity. Of all the snakes in an "untreated" world, imo the coastal taipan is the snake a human wants to be bitten by the least. I only say "imo" only because it could be argued the black mamba has equal untreated mortality rate. But from the study I've done it seems the black mamba does have slightly more survivors of untreated bites, although essentially it's still 100% like the coastal taipan. Having said this, I believe the black mamba is the more dangerous snake to a handler than the coastal taipan, as while untreated mortality rate is similar, the black mamba blows the coastal way in these ways: It is larger and more aggressive, as well as decently quicker than the coastal, making it signficantly more liable to bite. The coastal still scores high size, aggression and speed, but the black mamba is number two biggest snake in the world, and at the same time the quickest snake in the world, and at the same time the most skittish/aggressive snake in the world. This means that, for a handler in an "untreated" world, the chances of being killed by a black mamba are decently higher than being killed by a coastal taipan, even though the coastal probably has the slightly more lethal bite. The coastal taipan is the snake of snakes when it comes to which snake has the most lethal bite.
Great video Nick - they’re such a beautiful species! Thanks for the info on David Fleay too, he was an amazing man. Met him once when I was a kid at his wildlife park on the Gold Coast :)
Wicked Wildlife That would be amazing! I knew that he was the first person to successfully breed Platypus in captivity at Healesville along with other native animals but I hadn’t realised he was also involved in the early antivenin program so thank-you for that info!
I'm fascinated by the Taipans. There beautiful and mesmerizing. Best if appreciate from a far in thier natural habitat than try keeping as a pet. Appreciate the video. Stay Blessed brother
J's Betta Room I agree, while I be kept venomous snakes for a long time this is one species I personally wouldn’t be keeping if it wasn’t for the educational benifits, but they are amazing snakes
For anyone that's interested to learn more about the Indigenous man Nick mentioned who survived a coastal taipan bite - make sure you read 'Venom' by Brendan James Murray. Absolutely fascinating story!
Sammy Mark I actually have it on my shelf but haven’t gotten to it yet I hope to soon but reading isn’t my strength (which is why I’m so passionate about video as a medium)
@@WickedWildlife You'll love it mate. It's fantastic! It goes through a history of what the Aboriginal people had to go through at that time, and the incredible work done by those fellas you mentioned to capture and successfully milk taipans. Truly fascinating! :)
Did you guys see Tim Friede RU-vid channel? Dingo Dinkelman did video on him as well..His micro dosing experiments allowed him to endure multiple consecutive bites from Black Mamba and PNG Taipan's..He has not posted in awhile,my guess being insulted as at the time,many did not believe him but even Dingo said,he is no joke..Another question:: The smaller fanged Elapidae species,they sometimes cannot get through a pair of blue jeans?? Apology for all the questions,no expert here..My range I have encountered a few venomous snakes harvesting ginseng in mountains,or out West in National Forest,but left them alone...Not out of fear,just I like to exist with, and not disturb.I can tell when an animal experiences fear and I do not like being wondered about.If they chose to say hello,I would oblige them,but only then..I always had other purpose I was busy with and risking being bitten far away from help,not smart as well.lol..Rabid Animals are more a threat in my range,or Buck in Rut,or Mama Bear with cubs.I think you Aussie's would be impressed walking out my back door after dusk.lol...I have perfect property.
As I would be impressed with your range as both are like night and day..Thickens and Rich Rich forest and ancient swamp land here..Endless Mountains region..(Pennsylvania)And Family land out west is Heavy high plains desert with mountains (Idaho)..Love em both...
Those early Australian herpetologists are among Australia's greatest unsung heroes . They knew full well that a bite would mean certain death , and more than one paid the ultimate price . I dips my lid to them.
Thanks I had no idea the fangs were that big, awesome vid and love your confidence. I worked in the Cooper wetlands and channel country for 10 years and mostly in the field. Ive seen a huge variety of arid species even the Inland Taipan caught hunting, filmed on a good camera, it was hunting the cracks in the black soil country. My question is are you able to show how snakes are identified via the head scale count. I have countless close up photos and some good enough to do a count. The colour variation out there is mind boggling, anyway thanks and take care.
Oh, Bushmasters. On our Property in Belize, we had a lot of them. The locals really hate them so much, that if you talk about them, people will l walk away from the conversation. We put up signs on our property that said "Tommy Goff (local name) Breeding Facility. Enter at your own risk!" with pictures. Almost no unwanted visitors.
@@WickedWildlife Nothing like them! Beautiful Snakes that you do not want to get too close to in the wild or make them feel trapped, because they have no fear and are aggressive. They will come right at you with out hesitation and even when there are avenues of escape, once they begin chasing, they do not quit. Personal experience BTW!!
Great video, Nick! And such a sweet tempered snake, too. Or, at least, well-behaved for the duration of filming, haha. I'm really excited to see the channel so close to 10,000 subscribers! Shame it wasn't in time for your birthday, but it doesn't seem like it'll be that long after. Keep up the amazing work!
For a Coastal Taipan that snake is very well behaved that its actually shocking 😳 Good video as always mate 👍Also glad you mentioned the Central Rangers Taipan as about 2 months ago i was looking for more info about those after finding about them & the data about them is practically non existent which tells how fairly newly discovered 3rd taipan is, hope you can make an educational video about them as well soon ✌ really curious to know where do they stand on venom index, best bet being a Taipan its definitely will be in top 5 😎
KittoO I’m told there’s been some studies into their toxicity but they are waiting to be published Would love to cover them in a video but can’t see me getting acsess to one any time soon 😂
@@WickedWildlife I did read a piece about the western Desert Taipan and the tox report indicated that it was marginally more toxic than the Coastal. I believe these are only preliminary findings but if confirmed the Coastal gets relegated to fourth! Can't find the media piece to link for you. Either way, it's bloody amazing. Just noticed your recent video confirming this info. Really cool. Nick, do you reckon the Coastal would be pissed off if it found out?😁😉
@@lyndonmaddison5860 it’s actually true, in our shorts video last Thursday I talked about the fact the western dessert taipan now sits in between the eastern brown snake and coastal taipan
I heard that old taipan story on local ABC radio in Cairns a few years back, the unfortunate catcher while taking the snake out of his truck it escaped and bit him while trying to re catch it... The ultimate sacrifice. What an amazing story it was. It may have bitten him several times if I recall.
Where am I likely to find these guys, so that I know how to avoid them? If I'm living in coastal rural cairns, nearby cane fields, are they likely to hang around my house, in the garden, under woodpiles, in rafters? Should I tap in front of me with a stick if I go for a walk through the jungle/forest? Thanks for taking the time to do this video, and also on how to avoid these guys and stay out of their way.
I spend a lot of time hiking by myself in the bush around Cairns. I've seen many big pythons and other unconfirmed species but not yet a Taipan. At least I don't think I've seen one. I must say it's a scary thought - coming across one by myself and being struck before I can even think about it, then having to walk back to my car and get to hospital. I generally wear big bulky tracksuit pants and boots. I never put my hands or feet where I can't see them. And I try to walk very early mornings when the temp's a bit cooler. Could anyone give me any other pointers on Taipan habits or what I might expect if I do cross one of them?
Yeah right on. Black mamba would be the most dangerous to encounter/handle due to the combination of speed, size, temperament, and most importantly virtual 100% untreated mortality rate. But coastal taipan would be the most dangerous envenomation in the world due to literal 100% untreated mortality rate. I say "literal" because the aboriginal that survived was still treated in hospital so that's not actually an "untreated" case even though he wasn't treated with antivenin. There are cases to be found of folks surviving black mamba untreated, although it's rare enough one can say 100% untreated mortality rate, virtually 100%. And no dry bites by either of them. You get tagged by the coastal and you will die without medical help, no exceptions. Just about the same with black mamba unless you're one of the rare like 1/1000 or something survivors.
dangerous animals are pretty much a non-issue for Australians. I've surfed all my life but never seen a shark. Ive used the toilet and worn shoes all my life but never been bitten on the bum or shoes by a spider. It's very sad how tourists have such a stupidly stereotyped vision of Australia.
I am unlikely ever to encounter one of these, but it's interesting that the snake you showed has such a rhomboidal head. That, combined with the colouring, could lead people like me to think that it was a member of the python family. Another great video! If I'm ever in relevant areas of QLD, I'll be aware. Thanks Nick.
You should check out the Broadhead snake and the diamond python. Both are from the same area also. They’re very very close looking, and some bites are from people picking them up thinking they’re the python.
How would u compare equal length inland & coastal taipan against the same length black mamba in combat. I have watched other snake folk compare a 9 or 14 ft mamba 2 a full size taipan & l get cranky because they aren't pitting 2 snakes of similar length 4 compassion. Love ur work . Hope u & ur children r going well . Gid Bless Robert
They are quite placid unless provoked or cornered, Can be very territorial Unless you are a trained expert do not try this because they will go you with repeated accurate strikes! Definitely a snake to be respected.
I think it depends on how you classify “most dangerous” in terms of handling I believe your right, in terms of danger to the public, neither the mamba or taipan compare to the vipers
@@WickedWildlife btw i think only one zoo in South Australia has living specimens? and they're the only maker of a WDT antivenom! [edit] hopefully they've sent some to WA before the coronavirus border lockdown lol
DaveOz Adelaide Zoo have a pair I believe, but I don’t think they produce antivenom, if someone was bitten currently I think they would be treated with Taipan antivenom from CSL which is largely from coastal Taipan venom from my understanding
@@WickedWildlife I dont know one way or the other, but at museum.wa.gov.au/explore/articles/meet-western-desert-taipan it says "due to its danger to humans, an antivenene has been developed at the Adelaide Zoo"
DaveOz well there you go! I’ll look into it further but I’d say Adelaide zoo supplies the venom and CSL laboratory made the antivenin unless Adelaide have a herd of horses hidden out the back
I've only seen a tiny bit of coastal taipan footage but based on this footage I'd say the eastern brown is more skittish but in both cases you're usually OK if you leave them be and give them space to move on. I live too far south to see Taipans but I've encountered a few browns. They just want to get away from you and if you let them they will.
I’ve done what I can, but with only two currently in captivity and little to no footage of them I was hesitant to do one yet Maybe one day more come into captivity so I can physically show people in a video
Very deadly, not as poisonous as the inland but because of where they are and there aggressiveness. In saying that they like all snakes will rather go the other way. I’ve seen one all of 3m in length. I let it be and it went on it’s way.
Venom per bite is actually irrelevant when we are talking more or less venomous, r are taking about potency, and in any case, this species doesn’t produce more venom then any other land snake
@@Tutorialmaster17 I'd consider the coastal taipan to have the most dangerous envenomation, black mamba second, inland taipan third, probably bushmaster fourth. Not sure how to rank the western ranges inland, might be in there but don't know. Beyond that I'm not totally sure due to not studying a lot of the snakes in the rest of the world. But assuming just Australia you'd go death adder for fifth, tiger snake, mulga, then eastern brown. Untreated mortality rate: Coastal taipan - Literally 100% Black mamba - Virtually 100% Inland taipan - 80% Bushmaster - 60 - 80% Death Adder - 60% Tiger snake - 50% Mulga - 35% Eastern Brown - 15% Red Bellied Black Snake - 1% or bit less I'm guessing there might be a bunch of vipers that fits in between the bushmaster and eastern brown but pretty sure the bushmaster has the most dangerous envenomation of all the vipers. In drop-for-drop venom potency you'd go inland taipan first, then I think a sea snake or two, eastern brown, then maybe coastal taipan, again with question mark over the western ranges taipan which I know eff all about. But if it's any relation to the inland taipan it might be right up there.
If people don’t search for snakes then scientists can’t research them and their venom, as well as the areas they’re inhabiting. If some of those things aren’t known then effective treatment may not be available to snakebite victims. Your advice is pretty condescending and doesn’t take into account the decades of experience that this guy has.
I ran over on my pushie with what i thought was a stick with no shoes on and it struck but thankfully missed by an inch i went back and looked and it was a taipan....fuck me im lucky
