A SNAKE with a big bite has broken the world record for extracting the most King Brown snake venom.
Renowned for its deadly and dangerous venom program, Australian Reptile Park broke its own record with 1.5 grams extracted from Chewie the King Brown snake in one milking.
Head of reptiles Billy Collett said the existing record of freeze dried venom from the park’s King Brown milking program was 1.3 grams.
“King browns are not the most toxic snake but what they lack in toxicity, they make up for in sheer volume which can make its bite fatal,” Mr Collett said.
“When comparing deadly snake venom yields, the average tiger snake may produce around 0.3 grams of processed venom when milked, yet a King Brown snake commonly delivers 0.8grams on average in one bite.
“Chewie has smashed the average.”
Chewie is 12 years old and is more than 2.5 metres in length.
The Australian Reptile Park is the sole supplier of raw venom for the production of anti-venom in Australia. It houses more than 250 of the world’s most venomous snakes, which are milked fortnightly as part of it’s anti-venom production program.
General Manager of Australian Reptile Park Tim Faulkner said the park extracted venom from five groups of Australia’s deadliest snakes including Taipan snakes, brown snakes, tiger snakes, death adders and black snakes which was the species Chewie belonged to.
“If you were bitten by Chewie or any king brown snake, and didn’t receive anti-venom, the chances are very high that you will die,” Mr Faulkner said.
“The process requires Australian Reptile Park keepers to secure the 2.5 metre long deadly snake, sink its fangs into a large shot glass covered with plastic and delivery its lethal bite. It is then freeze dried removed of all moisture, sorted and deliver to BIO CSL to product anti-venom.”
There are 2000 reported snake bites in Australia, with more than 300 receiving anti-venom.
King Brown snakes are essential within Australia’s ecosystem, as they keep other animals like rodents, amphibians, and smaller reptile species in check maintaining balance.
As a new hero in the park, Chewie will be on show during the April school holidays at Australian Reptile Park’s Deadly and Dangerous demonstration, held daily at 1pm in the show pit.
