Which snake is more deadly?
MALUM Nalu’s Weekender piece, “Snakes Alive”, made an interesting claim – that Papua New Guinea is now home to the most venomous snake in the world.
I am no herpetologist but from what I do know, the Papuan Taipan is venomous but so is the Inland Taipan of Australia, which until recently was considered the most venomous in the world.
Can snake man David Williams provide us some updated facts on how he arrived at the conclusion that the Papuan Taipan is the world’s most deadliest gaigai?
I remember watching the late Steve Irwin come face to face with an Inland Taipan on a National Geographic programme.
According to Irwin, the Inland Taipan’s bite is 100 times more potent than any other venomous snake in the world.
So if the African Black Mamba is just as deadly and the Indian Cobra is just as bad, where does that put the Papuan Taipan?
Lastly, if we have the deadliest snake in the whole wide world, and 80% of our population lives in the rural settings, just imagine how much fear you have put into the minds of the people?
Every gaigai out there, poisonous or not, is just as good as dead!
And that is not good for the ecosystem.

Big Pat, Miaru River, Gulf of Papua
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