I HATE HATE HATE snakes, but I need to learn more about them as well.
@ctl74: It really is all about education. Â For whatever reason, maybe it's the old part of our brain (coincidentally enough called the "reptilian brain"), we tend to recognize snakes as a threat and it puts us into a panic. Â Exposure and knowledge are the cure. Â Once you get past that "they move all creepy" stage, they are truly beautiful creatures. Â Beyond that, learn about their diets and you'll see that even the venomous flavors are a huge benefit to our ecosystem.
I would submit to
@Nurse3 that the coral is only a threat to your pets or children if they try to handle it. Â Of course I realize that with small children this is a valid concern and if my child were too young to be taught to leave them alone, I'd absolutely make sure my area was rid of them. Â Although the coral is technically part of the cobra family and has by far the most potent venom, its delivery system isn't anything like the other 3 venomous snakes in our area. Â They don't have fangs and their mouth only opens wide enough to get around small fingers or a little toe, etc. Â Instead of one quick and hard bite, they sort of gnaw on their prey injecting very little venom each time. Â You have to get bit multiple times for there to be an effect. Â They are also incredibly skiddish. Â I've seen a few out on the greenbelts over the years and you generally just get a glimpse of them as they high-tail it away from you. Â This is why they stopped producing the anti-venom years ago and why the last death from a coral snake bite in the US was in 2006 (a drunk 29 year old man trying to kill it). Â Previous to that it was 1967. Â 4951