| 1 | Javan spitting cobra |
Maximum length: 185cm.
A cobra is already a terrifying foe to meet in the wild. They’re fast, agile, and far more unpredictable than the likers of vipers, which are generally slower. The only thing worse to meet than a normal cobra is a spitting cobra, and the Javan spitting cobra (Naja sputatrix) is just as dangerous as any.
This species lives on its namesake island in Indonesia, which is home to the capital city of Jakarta. It’s comfortable in urban environments, slithering down concrete streets as though they own the place. Naja sputatrix is particularly common in the campus of Universitas Indonesia, one of the country’s largest. Their regular venom is rich in three-finger neurotoxins, and is difficult to treat with Indonesia’s main antivenom. Permanent deformities are possible, due to high concentrations of cytotoxins.
But spitting cobras take this a step further with the ability to shoot a 5-10mg venom globule into your eyeball. Ordinarily with a cobra, you can instantly take a few steps backwards and survive, but this species can destroy the cornea of your eyeball while you breath a sigh of relief.
Temporary blindness is the norm, alongside extreme pain. Javan spitting cobras may flee at high speeds into vegetation, but they may erupt with a savage fury, as they’re a difficult snake to predict.
| 2 | Black mamba |
Maximum length: 4.25 metres.
The black mamba might be the worst snake to meet in the entire world, as they combine several dark arts into one apocalyptic whole. First is the venom itself. Black mamba venom causes rapid paralysis, with post synaptic neurotoxins that block brain signals from binding to acetylcholine receptors in muscle cells. Other symptoms include blurred vision and a metallic taste.
Coral snakes act similarly, but black mambas differentiate with a dangerously high venom yield. One bite can inject 400mg, which rapidly distributes through veins and capillaries to every cell. This would still be survivable, if you could stand back, but black mambas have an exceptionally fast and twitchy speed.
Black mambas aren’t calm snakes; they’re nervous and unpredictable. They’re rumoured to out-slither a racehorse, and even chase accelerating cars down highways. While this is clearly exaggerated, black mambas are undoubtedly one of nature’s fastest snakes. In a close quarter encounter, they can bite your chest with no warning. There may be no time to react.
Similarly, black mambas have a reputation as one of the most treacherous snakes to keep in captivity, with even flinging them a defrosted mouse a dangerous challenge. They can raise their upper body a full 1 metre off the ground, including while slithering.
| 3 | Mexican pygmy rattlesnake |
Maximum length: 70cm.
This little known species lives in southern central Mexico, in habitats ranging from pine-oak forest to dry plains of cacti and agave. They’re particularly abundant near the city of Huitzilac, elevation 2560 metres.
Mexican pygmy rattlesnakes (Crotalus ravus) are only average when it comes to venom potency. They lack the neurotoxins of Mojave rattlesnakes, instead wielding the usual haemotoxins that destroy red blood cells and trigger spontaneous bleeding. Where they really shine is in their ability to swarm people, for this is a rattlesnake that hangs out in gangs.
Crotalus ravus is one of the most social family members, like the Arizona black rattlesnake of the southern US. Groups of 100 have been observed together, rendering certain fields and footpaths out of bounds to locals.
It’s easy enough to step back promptly when a rattlesnake hisses at you from long grass. But with Crotalus ravus, you might stumble right into its mate. Turn left, and you’ll meet its cousin. Turn right, and another 5 Mexican pygmy rattlesnakes will appear from nowhere. Meanwhile, the local villagers will be chuckling at your overconfidence. Crotalus ravus is found mainly at high altitudes, becoming increasingly rare on the lower plains.
| 4 | Mangrove pitviper |
Maximum length: 107cm.
Gloom, murk, waist deep marshes, and thin, eerie branches. These are all things that the mangrove pitviper of Singapore loves. This species also inhabits Thailand and peninsular Malaysia, and uses spookiness to full effect, enjoying the spectacle of rising panic in humans that dare to intrude on its wetland domain, before dispatching them with a single accurate bite.
Mangrove pitvipers reach 60-90cm, and are mainly black with a slight blue tinge. Their pupils are vertical slits, their eyes yellow to orange, and their diet partly consists of rival snakes such as mud snakes (Fordonia leucobalia). They’re a nocturnal species which spends the majority of their day in ambush posture on a darkened tree branch. This hunting style is how they spring at people who walk past and fail to notice them.
Compared to neighbouring pitvipers, the mangrove pitviper is particularly common in forested wetlands. One example is the Sungei Buloh wetland reserve of Singapore, which is also a hub for reticulated pythons. This reserve is popular among bird watchers, but something you may not notice is the mangrove pitviper gleefully preparing to drop on your head. Your next task is to dodge the giant constrictor watching you with interest, as you stagger to the local hospital.
| 5 | Mulga |
Maximum length: 330cm.
The mulga doesn’t care about you, or anyone apart from itself. Also called the king brown snake, this is a 2.5 metre venomous serpent which moodily prowls the Australian outback, attacking anyone that gets in its way.
One day, the mulga could be resting on rocks by a dried out streambed. The next, it could be investigating a dark burrow on a barren outback plain. The day after that, it could be mindlessly attacking a road tripper whose car has broken down along a highway.
Mulgas are Australia’s longest venomous snake, and they have the personality to match. They avoid the milder southeast of Australia, preferring the hotter regions of Northern Territory and Western Australia. Mulgas have an even larger venom yield than the black mamba, at a record of 1350mg and a norm of 150-300mg. They also have a tendency to invade houses. Symptoms include swelling, nausea, headache, and unclottable blood.
Like the black mamba, their personality is almost unhinged. Mulgas are one of the most eager snakes to bite on earth. They’re the opposite of a deadly yet shy coral snake. The mulga views you as an obstacle to be brushed aside, and to achieve this, they clamp down on you arm and inject 1000mg of venom.
Mulgas appear in towns like Alice Springs, but also remote, deserted outback, where it’s tricky to receive medical assistance. Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary is another place to meet this snake.
| 6 | Eastern brown snake |
Maximum length: 240cm.
The mulga’s easterly neighbour the eastern brown snake cannot be ignored when it comes to snakes you would least want to meet. The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) averages at 1.5 metres and mainly inhabits Australia’s east coast, including the outskirts of Sydney and Brisbane. They have a heavily neurotoxic venom, containing unique molecules such as textilotoxin. Common effects in humans include laboured breathing and weak muscles.
Over 30% of Australian snakebite deaths are caused by brown snakes. Like a black mamba, the main reason encounters end badly is their nervous, twitchy demeanour. Eastern brown snakes will throw themselves into a mid air S-coil at the slightest provocation. Movement spooks them, causing them to pounce. This video shows classic eastern brown snake behaviour. Only when the cameraman stayed still did the eastern brown snake finally leave.
The worst place to meet an eastern brown snake would be a tight confined space, like an alleyway, or just after closing your front door. Their strike is rapid, but there’s one saving grace: eastern brown snakes aren’t that accurate. A 2000 study found that 62% of strikes failed to hit the target.
| 7 | Bibron’s stiletto snake |
Maximum length: 70cm.
Bibron’s stiletto snake (Atractaspis bibronii) is a species of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, with a partly fossorial (underground) lifestyle. They live in savannah, woods and villages alike, and are mainly sighted after heavy rains which draw them to the surface. They measure 30-40cm, and have a dangerously neurotoxic venom.
There’s two things which make this species especially dangerous to meet: 1) sideways-angled fangs, and 2) an extremely close resemblance to harmless underground thread snakes.
Up close, you can see that Bibron’s stiletto snake has bizarrely shaped fangs, which stick sideways from their mouth. Picking up this species rarely ends well. Just when you think they’re under control, securing their head with a thumb and finger, Bibron’s stiletto snake will stab at you sideways, twisting its head at bizarre angles which barely seem possible. They’re experts at this stabbing manoeuvre, precise and efficient.
Bibron’s stiletto snake has a particularly mesmerising defensive display, as they arch their back to the sky, then slam their head to the ground. This is theorised to be a digging manoeuvre, but possibly a strange intimidation ritual. Atractaspis bibronii rarely kills, but bites have led to amputations in the past.
| 8 | Speckled lancehead |
Maximum length: 174.5cm.
If you stumble into this snake, inches from its face, you’re in serious trouble. Not just because of its potent venom, but because they live only in dense jungle. You’re trapped in a world of lethal coral snakes and rivers that only a fool would wade through. You must travel many inhospitable miles before reaching a cure, unless you receive an impossible helicopter evacuation.
Speckled forest pitvipers (Bothrops taeniatus) measure 100-150cm, and are another tree dweller, clinging to branches all day long. They range from central Brazil to Ecuador, and have dozens of potent toxins, particularly cytotoxins and haemotoxins. If you get bitten by a speckled forest pitviper, then you’re a long way from home. You have stifling humidity, bloodthirsty gnats, and thick swamps to navigate before you can escape.
Speckled forest pitvipers are a dangerous snake to meet due to the claustrophobic, tight nature of their jungles. Encounters have a good chance of being face to face, within easy range of their explosive lunge. You might get luckier and spot one in a more spacious forest hollow. But there’s no telling what will happen if you enter the speckled forest pitviper’s domain.
If you’re several metres away, you’ll survive, as Bothrops taenitus is slow-moving. If you’re inches away, you may have mere milliseconds to react. There’s also a chance that a coral snake bites your foot while you’re distracted.
| 9 | Papuan black snake |
Maximum length: 244cm.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most poorly studied snake nations on Earth, and for wildlife overall. In November 2023, the Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was rediscovered for the first time since 1961. Unidentified snake species are surely hidden in the Papuan jungle, and even confirmed species have little research.
What is confirmed is that Papuan black snakes (Pseudechis papuanus) are one of Papua New Guinea’s deadliest, and easily capable of killing anyone their fangs touch. This species belongs to the same Pseudechis genus as red-bellied black snakes in Australia. They exceed 2 metres, and are almost pure black, with only subtle patterns.
A Papuan black snake will hiss and strike when cornered, and most worryingly, it’s hard to tell if you are cornering them, the jungle terrain is so thick. The venom is deadlier than Australian black snakes, and contains a rare neurotoxin called papuantoxin-1.
In the unpredictable oasis that Papua New Guinea somehow remains in 2023, there’s no telling when this species might be sneaking up on you. This species is almost completely black, with the exception of a whitish chin.
| 10 | Venezuelan lancehead |
Maximum length: 166.7cm.
Part of the same Bothrops clan as the speckled forest pitviper. Venezuelan lanceheads are far more ground-dwelling, and appear not just in jungle, but forest edges and villages.
This species inhabits most of Venezuela, plus a chunk of Colombia. Bothrops venezuelensis is effectively the guardian of South America, as on a trek on foot from Central America, you have no choice but to pass through their territory, which represents a wall blocking you from the heart of Brazil.
Venezuelan lanceheads have a reputation for aggression. Along with common lanceheads (Bothrops atrox), they bite numerous Venezuelans per year, sending many to hospital, killing a few. The venom isn’t the most lethal, lacking neurotoxins, but contains potent cytotoxins and hemotoxins, which unleash necrosis and free bleeding, potentially causing permanent deformity. Nosebleeds are one symptom.
Venezuelan lanceheads hiss, lunge, mock strike, actual bite – all the party tricks you’d expect. This species has a cryptic colour scheme. Their brown and gold tones are majestic in photographs, yet blend surprisingly well with the dense Venezuelan undergrowth. This species is relatively slow, unlike a black mamba, but can be very difficult to spot, and therefore avoid a duel with.