{"id":2429,"date":"2019-02-11T11:42:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T16:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2429"},"modified":"2019-02-11T12:06:05","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T17:06:05","slug":"any-snakes-the-cruel-saga-of-the-ontsrio-viper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2429","title":{"rendered":"ANY SNAKES? THE CRUEL SAGA OF THE ONTSRIO VIPER"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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ALAN SKEOCH<\/div>\n
FEB. 2019<\/div>\n
(supplement to Ten Years  in the Wilderness)<\/div>\n

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  THE DANGEROUS ONTARIO VIPER:  A CRUEL JOKE<\/div>\n

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\u201cAny snakes?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, watch out for the Ontario Viper.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOntario viper?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDeadly?\u2026many around here?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLots\u2026they love swamps like this.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Picture: Much of the 2400 hectare Beverly Swamp looked like this picture only the clumps of trees were cedars.  The water was<\/div>\n
shallow, maybe a foot or two in most places.  But occasionally!!!  Occasionally there were deep holes where clumps of cedars<\/div>\n
had been blown over.  These holes could be 3 or 4 feet deep.  \u201cAnd?\u201d  And I am not proud of what happened here. Sometimes <\/div>\n
jokes are just not funny in retrospect.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Picture:   Notice the person in the high hip waders.  His name is Maxie Ranasigh.   He feared snakes  would get him.  That was  all<\/div>\n
we needed to know.  \u201cLet\u2019s have some fun with Maxie.\u201d   What followed was a very bad joke.<\/div>\n

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ANY SNAKES?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The snake incident makes  me flinch when I think about even now\u202665 years later.<\/div>\n
Let\u2019s call it \u2018the Ontario Viper\u2019 saga.  You will think less of us after reading this confession, that\u2019s for sure.<\/div>\n
 Remember we were 19 or 20 when this  grand idea popped into our<\/div>\n
heads.  And we were doing a seismic job through the Beverly Swamp, a  2400 hectare wild land south of<\/div>\n
Hamilton.   Dan B. was my partner on that seismic job.  In addition we were assigned  a  Colombo Plan<\/div>\n
geophysicist from Ceylon named Maxi Ranasingh.   I\u2019m afraid we did not set a fine example of<\/div>\n
Canadian graciousness.  What we thought was funny some readers may consider tasteless \u2026 even gross.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Picture:  You are looking at the ONTARIO VIPER\u2026.commonly known as the HARMLESS GARTER SNAKE\u2026but Maxie did not know that.<\/div>\n

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\u201cThese Canadian swamps  can be dangerous, Maxie.  So be Careful.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy?  What danger?<\/div>\n
\u201cThe deadly Ontario viper could  be in here?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOntario viper?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDeadliest snake in Canada\u2026perhaps three feet long, dark green with a thin red  stripe \u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cAny in this  swamp?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThey are everywhere.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI got these hip waders to avoid getting wet.  Will they also protect me?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShould  do unless you accidentally step into a big swamp hole and a viper crawls down inside the hip wader.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou boys  lead on.\u201d<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

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And so  we entered  a long stretch of the Beverly swamp that looked much like the photo<\/div>\n
\u2026trees that loved water, mostly clusters of cedars.  Some of these clusters had been toppled<\/div>\n
by a windstorm thereby creating deep holes in the normally shallow swamp.  Dan and I stirred  up<\/div>\n
the mud and broken tree roots as  we crossed  through one of these holes\u2026a  deep one.  <\/div>\n

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\u201cCarefull, Dan, this  looks like s deep one.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cKeep the instrument high.”<\/div>\n

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\u201cDid you tell Maxi about the hole?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo, did you?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThen he doesn\u2019t know the hole is about three feet deep?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe has no idea.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then Maxie stepped in the hole.  Suubmerged up to his ass Black gucky water poured into his  hip waders\u2026<\/div>\n
 pieces of tree roots that could seem like snakes  with a little<\/div>\n
imagination.   Maybe an Ontario viper slipped down<\/div>\n
his legs along with all the guck.<\/div>\n

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\u201cMY waders are full!\u2026I can\u2019t move\u2026slimy things down my legs\u2026”<\/div>\n

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No easy escape.  The water filled waders were like the cement overshoes in gang murders.  Maxie could<\/div>\n
barely move.  He tumbled his way to a clearing.  Scared for sure. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Now Dan and I thought this was really funny.  We even considered it part of Maxie’a education\u2026the practical<\/div>\n
side of being a  geophysicist.   Whenever a new person joined s field crew, jokes like this were rampant.  Like <\/div>\n
Scratching the tent wall simulating a bear when the new guy is wrapped up in his sleeping bag.   Or hiding<\/div>\n
his fly net when the black flies  were at their worst.  Or making sure the worms in the bacon slab are visible<\/div>\n
and not removed.  Or telling stories abut bush planes that crash.  \u201cThose seabees fall like rocks if the engine falls, no<\/div>\n
glide.\u201d   Or putting pine gum on the sitting bar at the latrine.  Or telling a new guy that pike are delicious and<\/div>\n
bone free.  Or stopping suddenly\u2026\u201dDid you hear that? We\u2019re being tracked by a wolverine.\u201d  Or telling a new <\/div>\n
guy why we do not carry guns\u2026\u201dDanger we might shoot each other\u2026cooped up together breeds hatred.\u201d<\/div>\n
Or be careful with the Forcite\u2026\u201dslide the detonator in slowly\u2026if there is too much friction it could explode.\u201d<\/div>\n

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The chances  to pick on a new man were almost infinite.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
But the joke on Maxi backfired.  I still feel badly about it.<\/div>\n

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After Maxie emptied his hip waders and after we were through laughing we queried Maxie <\/div>\n
on snakes in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).<\/div>\n

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\u201cAny vipers in Ceylon, Maxie?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u2018Many of them\u2026and other deadly snakes well.\u201d<\/div>\n
:Deadly?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf bitten, a victim has about 30 to 60 minutes to get to a hospital or die.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo joke, Maxie?   Are snakes that deadly common?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cVery common in certain places.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNames?\u201d<\/div>\n
“Sea snake, Saw Scaled Viper  (kills 5,000 people annually) , Russels\u2019s Viper (kills 25,000 people annually), Hump Nosed Viper, Green Pit Viper, Common Krait (KILLS 10,000 per year in India), Common Cobra, Ceylon Krait, \u2026<\/div>\n
all are very bad.  One kind  of cobra can spit its venom up to 3 metres away.  That\u2019s 10 feet.  Snakes in my country are not funny.  And there are lots of them.<\/div>\n
\u201cHow many?”<\/div>\n
 \u201cWe have more than 93 snake varieties\u2026many deadly snakes. Of the five most dangerous snakes in the world, three of them<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/div>\n
are in my country. Ceylon has the highest rate of snakebite deaths in the world.”<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/div>\n

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NO LAUGHING MATTER\u2026OBVIOUSLY WE WERE EMBARASSED.<\/div>\n

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You might be surprised to know that these facts made our little joke less  funny.  Below are four of the most deadly snakes that Maxie Ranasingh  could have described<\/div>\n
if we could have stopped laughing at our joke as he struggled to pull off his hip waders.<\/div>\n

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Common krait<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n

Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus<\/i>)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The <\/span>common krait<\/a> (<\/span>Bungarus caeruleus<\/i>) is often considered to be the most dangerous snake species in India. Its venom consists mostly of powerful <\/span>neurotoxins<\/a> which induce muscle paralysis. Clinically, its venom contains pre<\/span>synaptic<\/a> and postsynaptic neurotoxins,<\/span>[67]<\/a><\/sup> which generally affect the nerve endings near the <\/span>synaptic cleft<\/a> of the <\/span>brain<\/a>. Due to the fact that krait venom contains many presynaptic neurotoxins, patients bitten will often not respond to antivenom because once paralysis has developed it is not reversible.<\/span>[68]<\/a><\/sup> This species causes an estimated 10,000 fatalities per year in <\/span>India<\/a> alone.<\/span>[66]<\/a><\/sup> There is a 70-80% mortality rate in cases where there is no possible or poor and ineffective treatment (e.g., no use of <\/span>mechanical ventilation<\/a>, low quantities of antivenom, poor management of possible infection). Average venom yield per bite is 10 mg (Brown, 1973), 8 to 20 mg (dry weight) (U.S. Dept. Navy, 1968), and 8 to 12 mg (dry weight) (Minton, 1974).<\/span>[67]<\/a><\/sup> The lethal adult human dose is 2.5 mg.<\/span>[68]<\/a><\/sup>[69]<\/a><\/sup> In <\/span>mice<\/a>, the <\/span>LD50<\/sub><\/a> values of its venom are 0.365 mg\/kg <\/span>SC<\/a>, 0.169 mg\/kg <\/span>IV<\/a> and 0.089 mg\/kg <\/span>IP<\/a>.<\/span>[15]<\/a><\/sup> <\/div>\n

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Russell’s viper<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n

Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii<\/i>)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Russell’s viper<\/a> (Daboia russelii<\/i>) produces one of the most excruciatingly painful bites of all venomous snakes. Internal bleeding is common. Bruising, blistering and necrosis may appear relatively quickly as well.[70]<\/a><\/sup> The Russell’s viper is irritable, short-tempered and a very aggressive snake by nature and when irritated, coils tightly, hisses, and strikes with lightning speed. This species is responsible for more human fatalities in India than any other snake species, causing an estimated 25,000 fatalities annually.[66]<\/a><\/sup> The LD50<\/sub><\/a> in mice, which is used as a possible indicator of snake venom toxicity, is as follows: 0.133 mg\/kg intravenous, 0.40 mg\/kg intraperitoneal, and about 0.75 mg\/kg subcutaneous.[71]<\/a><\/sup> For most humans, a lethal dose is approximately 40\u201370 mg. However, the quantity of venom produced by individual specimens is considerable. Reported venom yields for adult specimens range from 130\u2013250 mg to 150\u2013250 mg to 21\u2013268 mg. For 13 juveniles with an average length of 79 cm, the average venom yield was 8\u201379 mg (mean 45 mg).[13]<\/a><\/sup><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Saw-scaled viper<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n

Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus<\/i>)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Saw-scaled viper<\/a> (Echis carinatus<\/i>) is small, but its unpredictability, aggressive temper, and lethal venom potency make it very dangerous. This species is one of the fastest striking snakes in the world, and mortality rates for those bitten are very high. In India<\/a> alone, the saw-scaled viper is responsible for an estimated 5,000 human fatalities annually.[66]<\/a><\/sup> However, because it ranges from Pakistan<\/a>, India (in rocky regions of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab), Sri Lanka<\/a>, parts of the Middle East<\/a> and Africa<\/a> north of the equator,[72]<\/a><\/sup> is believed to cause more human fatalities every year than any other snake species.[73]<\/a><\/sup> In drier regions of the African<\/a> continent, such as sahels<\/a> and savannas, the saw-scaled vipers<\/a> inflict up to 90% of all bites.[74]<\/a><\/sup> The rate of envenomation is over 80%.[75]<\/a><\/sup> The saw-scaled viper also produces a particularly painful bite. This species produces on the average of about 18 mg of dry venom by weight, with a recorded maximum of 72 mg. It may inject as much as 12 mg, whereas the lethal dose for an adult human is estimated to be only 5 mg.[18]<\/a><\/sup> Envenomation results in local symptoms as well as severe systemic symptoms that may prove fatal. Local symptoms include swelling and intense pain, which appear within minutes of a bite. In very bad cases the swelling may extend up the entire affected limb within 12\u201324 hours and blisters form on the skin.[76]<\/a><\/sup> Of the more dangerous systemic symptoms, hemorrhage<\/a> and coagulation defects are the most striking. Hematemesis<\/a>, melena<\/a>, hemoptysis<\/a>, hematuria<\/a> and epistaxis<\/a> also occur and may lead to hypovolemic shock<\/a>. Almost all patients develop oliguria<\/a>or anuria<\/a> within a few hours to as late as 6 days post bite. In some cases, kidney dialysis<\/a> is necessary due to acute renal failure<\/a> (ARF), but this is not often caused by hypotension<\/a>. It is more often the result of intravascular hemolysis<\/a>, which occurs in about half of all cases. In other cases, ARF is often caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation<\/a>.[76]<\/a><\/sup><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
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Philippine cobra<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

Philippine cobra (naga philippinensis<\/i>)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Philippine cobra<\/a> (Naga philippinensis<\/i>) is one of the most venomous cobra species in the world based on murine<\/a> LD50<\/sub><\/a> studies. The average subcutaneous<\/a> LD50<\/sub><\/a> for this species is 0.20 mg\/kg.[15]<\/a><\/sup> The lowest LD50<\/sub><\/a> reported value for this snake is 0.14 mg\/kg SC<\/a>, while the highest is 0.48 mg\/kg SC<\/a>.[115]<\/a><\/sup> and the average venom yield per bite is 90\u2013100 mg.[15]<\/a><\/sup> The venom<\/a> of the Philippine cobra is a potent postsynaptic neurotoxin<\/a> which affects respiratory function and can cause neurotoxicity<\/a> and respiratory paralysis, as the neurotoxins interrupt the transmission of nerve signals by binding to the neuromuscular junctions near the muscles. Research has shown its venom is purely a neurotoxin, with no apparent necrotizing components and no cardiotoxins<\/a>. These snakes are capable of accurately spitting their venom at a target up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) away. Bites from this species produce prominent neurotoxicity and are considered especially dangerous. A study of 39 patients envenomed by the Philippine cobra was conducted in 1988. Neurotoxicity occurred in 38 cases and was the predominant clinical feature. Complete Respiratory failure developed in 19 patients, and was often rapid in onset; in three cases, apnea occurred within just 30 minutes of the bite. There were two deaths, both in patients who were moribund upon arrival at the hospital. Three patients developed necrosis, and 14 individuals with systemic symptoms had no local swelling at all. Both cardiotoxicity and reliable nonspecific signs of envenoming were absent. Bites by the Philippine cobra produce a distinctive clinical picture characterized by severe neurotoxicity of rapid onset and minimal local tissue damage.[116]<\/a><\/sup><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Playing childish tricks of newcomers on survey crews is not new.   But this  joke on Maxie backfired  badly.  He had every reason to <\/div>\n
be fearful as deaths from snakebite in Sri Lanka is the highest in the world.  We did knot know that.  All we knew was that Maxie<\/div>\n
had never been in the wild lands of Canada.  Wile lands?  The Beverly Swamp is huge\u20262400 hectares \u2026but it is also part<\/div>\n
of the City of Hamilton.  Hardly a wild land.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
DO YOU WANT ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF INSENSITIVITY?  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE WORST JOKE I EVER WITNESSED IN THE BUSH:  CRUEL<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 The worst trick  ever played on one of my crews was<\/div>\n
played on Dick Wilson.  Dick was a  mild mannered  young man who had a terrible stutter.   He could  never complete<\/div>\n
a  ssssetntence  wwwwwithout ssssstuttering.  We were working in Northern Quebec near Chibougamau back in 1956<\/div>\n
when one rather insensitive practical jokers on our crew  devised a wonderful (?) practical joke using a long sharpened sampling.<\/div>\n
One dark night he waited at the base of our latrine which was located on a rock outcrop.   When Dick Wilson dropped his pants<\/div>\n
and sat on the latrine seat (a length of poplar lashed to two trees)\u2026the joker shoved the sharpened stick up and scratched<\/div>\n
Dick Wilson on the ass   Dick ran down the outcrop to our tents where he tried to say:<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cBBBBear ccccclawed mime noon the aaasss.\u201d    <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I did not think that was a very funny joke at the time.   To others it was hilarious.   Poor Dick Wilson was a target for many<\/div>\n
so called  jokes.  I was  the youngest person on that crew and got my share of jokes.  Jokes  at my expense.  But Dick<\/div>\n
Wilson was the most vulnerable because he stuttered.  Do wild  animals pick on the  weakest in the litter?  Male bears <\/div>\n
will kill cubs if they can get them.  Maybe the weak are always targets from the strong.  Wilson worried  about going<\/div>\n
bald.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cI think I am growing bbbbald.\u201d  he stuttered on one occasions.<\/div>\n
\u201cIf you cut all your hair and  shave your head, then a full head of hair will grow back.\u201d  suggested<\/div>\n
one of the crew.<\/div>\n
\u201cReally?  Help me cut is  all  off.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dicks\u2019s hair did  not grow back.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
SOME will find this behaviour infantile, insensitive and classic examples  of bullying.  Probably true.   Pretend  you did<\/div>\n
not read these  silly examples.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ALAN SKEOCH<\/div>\n
FEB. 2019<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ALAN SKEOCH FEB. 2019 (supplement to Ten Years  in the Wilderness)   THE DANGEROUS ONTARIO VIPER:  A CRUEL JOKE \u201cAny snakes?\u201d \u201cYes, watch out for the Ontario Viper.\u201d \u201cOntario viper?\u201d \u201cDeadly?\u2026many around here?\u201d \u201cLots\u2026they love swamps like this.\u201d Picture: Much of the 2400 hectare Beverly Swamp looked like this picture only the clumps of trees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}