Snakes like these are giants. Black mambas can measure up to 14 feet, and the longest king cobra ever recorded was 19 feet.
The vipers are small on the contrary, as short as six inches and not more than six feet long, but very thick. They have long, retractable fangs which can carry poison to the muscle.
Its venom destroys blood clotting factors and victims die slowly and gruesomely. bleeding in the brain, eyes and mouth.
Identifying the attacker can help tailor treatment. But many people never see the snake that bites them, or if they do, they can’t identify it. To the untrained eye, venomous snakes may seem indistinguishable from harmless ones.
Names don’t make it easier. Green mambas are green, but black mambas are pale gray to dark brown; They are called that because the inside of the mouth is black. They are best recognized by their coffin-shaped head and haunting smile.
Some scientists are building AI models to identify snakes, so that anyone with a smartphone can tell them apart.
About a third of snake bites occur in children. They occur less frequently among pregnant women, but the results (including miscarriage, placental rupture, abruption, fetal malformations, and death of both mother and fetus) can be catastrophic.
Often the victims are farmers. The loss of a breadwinner devastates families.
Ruth Munuve’s husband worked as a driver in Nairobi and returned to the family farm every other weekend. He was bitten on a Saturday in April 2020, at age 42, while walking through the brush on his way home after a night of partying.
Two hospitals struggling to treat Covid patients turned him away. When he died two days later, his body had swollen to twice its size, a hallmark of a snake bite, said his sister, Esther Nziu.
Ms Munuve now grows maize and cowpeas, mainly for human consumption, and sells green grams. Ms Nziu has five children, but is doing her best to help raise her brother’s four children.
Money is scarce, but the women still paid to fortify the house. “I don’t want anyone else to be bitten by snakes,” Ms Nziu said.
