Mamba death in the press

Its old news but this is the current update for those who have not seen it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16154923

Sad. But i am wondering , why didnt he tell no one being a student for safari guide i am sure he knew what kind a snake it was . my other guess since it took an hour for ihm to feel anything it must have not been a full bite maybe he dint feel it himself

Bites and their process can be very different, that must not depend on the dose of injected venom alone. i doubt he didn't feel anything before he collapsed, there's a row of presymptoms before it comes to respiratory arrest or heart failure.

http://drdavidson.ucsd.edu/Portals/0/snake/Dendroa3.htm

http://kruger2canyons.com/learningcentre/bitten_by_a_mamba.php

Yes and Im sure there would have been some bleeding even if it had been a very small puncture, so He must have known he was bitten, maybe he felt embarrassed, and didnt think it was any danger because it was such a small snake!
I bet we never will find out for sure..
tragic in any case, but it would have been prevented with a trip to hospital I imagine...
reg
Mats

Black mamba's certainly have a high fatality rate if bites are left untreated Sad

Sad though all the rapid death's from snake bite I read about seem to be from Black Mamba's.

Joel Power wrote:: Black mamba's certainly have a high fatality rate if bites are left untreated Sad though all the rapid death's from snake bite I read about seem to be from Black Mamba's.

Yes straight 100% for recorded bites, as far as I know.

Mats Jonsson wrote:: Yes and Im sure there would have been some bleeding even if it had been a very small puncture

Mats, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this.
The one time I was ever tagged (by a adult C. horridus male) there was no sign of blood or even a puncture mark and no pain.
Of course I very clearly saw the animal lounge at me, but it was only after I noticed a tiny drop of clear liquid on my finger I started to realize that I must have been bitten.
So, in my mind the possibility of being bitten without bleeding cannot be ruled out.

Furthermore I have observed my adult D.polylepis many times when they went for the live rats I fed them, and regularly the bite happened so quickly and quietly that the rat didn't even notice it was bitten.
If a bite was not so good (i.e more forcefull) it would result in the D. polylepis having trouble getting his fangs out of the prey animal, but a good bite would go almost unnoticed.
D. polylepis and D. viridis bites (and even more so those of D. angusticeps) are mostly not brought on with great force as compared to several other species.
With other species like C.durissus for example the rats would sometimes literally fly through the air during the attacks.
Therefore I can easily imagine that the bite of a juvenile D. polylepis (an adult would not fit in a glass jar) might easily happen without someone even realizing he/she has been bitten.

Guenter Leitenbauer wrote:

Joel Power wrote:: Black mamba's certainly have a high fatality rate if bites are left untreated Sad though all the rapid death's from snake bite I read about seem to be from Black Mamba's.

Yes straight 100% for recorded bites, as far as I know.

So pretty much without medical treatment and anti-venom a bite victim is dead. I agree with the not being able to feel the bites unlike say a viper bite as ive seen Dendroaspis spp. seem to stab the prey very quickly then let it die.

oh thats a horiffic and tragedy.when people died if snake bite it make me cry.first mistake he made is that he didn't informed anyone.and completely agree that 1st symptom of neurotoxic venom is Blurred vision and numbness at the tip of tongue and the bitten portion and after after few minutes it will lead you to paralysis if untreated.so sad Sad

Hmm It seems like some posts are missing!!!
reg
Mats

Although ive looked over Black Mamba venom and its makeup I still wonder why its so rapid acting. Is it the Dendrotoxin's or is it the cardiotoxins that are the most rapid acting or is it the fact its post-synaptic in nature.

What a strange news. Is it really possible to be bitten by a black mamba and not noticing?

Black mamba has one of the powerfulest venom in the world. Could you just be ok during one hour after such snake bite?

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