Efa, snake - etymology. Sand faff What is made from sand faff

Snake with pretty beautiful name efa is very common in the foothills and valleys Central Asia. There is so much talk about this snake here that efa is already becoming almost legendary. There is especially much talk about its danger to humans. A small drop of its poison is enough to kill an entire company of soldiers. If an efa bites, the person is doomed; even if he survives, he will remain crippled forever.

In fact, these are not just stories. Of course, much of all the talk about this snake is exaggerated, but the truth is that its venom is indeed very toxic. Every year many die from ephas bites. The sand epha ranks seventh among the twenty most dangerous snakes to humans. In Africa he dies from its poison more people than from everyone African snakes combined.

Efa is a not very large snake, half the size of a cobra or viper, its length is about 70-80 cm. Males are on average slightly larger than females. But, despite its small size, by snake standards, the efu is very difficult not to notice. It is golden sandy in color. Large white spots appear throughout the body, with a light zigzag drawn on the side. The underside is light yellow, sometimes with brown dots arranged in the form of stripes, and on the head you can see a kind of cross.

Efa lives throughout northern Africa to Algeria, and in the south it is distributed to Abyssinia. In addition, it is found in Palestine, Arabia, Persia and the west of the Hindustan Peninsula. Lives in lumpy sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. In favorable conditions, efa can be very numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, over an area of ​​about 1.5 km, snake catchers produced more than 2 thousand ef.

Efa - amazing snake. In many ways it differs from its cold-blooded counterparts. For example, ephas may not hibernate if the winter is not cold. They can mate in January. And by March, small snakes appear, while in other snakes they appear no earlier than June. Surprisingly, the efa does not lay eggs and gives birth to live snakes. The female brings from 3 to 16 young reptiles 10-16 cm long.

Despite the fact that the epha is one of the most poisonous snakes, it rarely attacks living creatures that are larger than a vole. Most often, its prey is centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, and midges. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the efa is quite nimble and cannot, like many snakes, simply lie in the sun. But in order to digest big catch, necessary for a long time be at rest.

Efa is characterized by sideways movement. She throws her head to the side, then brings the back of her body forward and pulls up the front of her body. This method creates better body support on a loose substrate. Because of this method of movement, a characteristic mark remains on the sand - separate oblique strips with hooked ends.

Efa very rarely crawls into people's houses, but it still happens sometimes. Similar cases have been recorded in Egypt. You need to be especially careful with ruins or abandoned houses. In 1987, three children died in Cairo after finding a nest in an abandoned house where no one had lived for many years. The children entered this house out of curiosity and accidentally disturbed the ef family hiding there. The snake, protecting its newly born offspring, attacked the children. They could not be saved because the poison acted very quickly.

In India, sand faff is very common. Settles in the area where there is sandy soil. Here she is credited with most of the deaths caused by snake bites; Workers in the fields especially suffer from it.

Although efa is considered one of the most dangerous snakes, more than half of all its attacks occurred due to the negligence of man himself. If the snake thinks that it or its offspring are in danger, it will defend itself fiercely. The energy, mobility and speed with which the efa defends and attacks produces great impression. As soon as the snake senses danger, it begins to wriggle in a special way, forming two semi-lunar curves from its body and keeping its head ready to attack in the middle of one of these curves. At the same time, she does not remain calm for a minute, but constantly turns right and left. The snake remains in an offensive position as long as a person or animal is nearby and sinks its teeth into every object it can reach. She is said to be able to make jumps as high as half her body. Therefore, it is better not to approach the snake at a distance of less than three meters. During a defensive position, this snake still makes a characteristic sound. Its sandy fret is produced by friction of the side scales.

As already noted, the poison of efa is very toxic. It sharply reduces the level of fibrinogen in the blood, which causes heavy bleeding, both in the bite area and in other “weak” places, especially from the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. The remaining symptoms of poisoning are typical for most venomous snakes. Every fifth person bitten by ephas dies. To stop the effect of the poison that has entered the body until doctors arrive or until the victim is taken to the nearest hospital, a number of actions must be taken. A first aid measure for a bite is to immediately suck out the venom from the wounds, so that a significant part of the venom can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the venom with your fingers and suctioning should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suctioning is completely safe for the people doing it. A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

To avoid having to use these actions in life, you must be careful, especially if you know that there may be a sand efa nearby. Because of its light spots, the efu is easy to spot on the sand. The snakes themselves try to avoid people and go around the houses in which a person lives. And then - the efa never attacks without warning; it will certainly warn the uninvited traveler with its rustling sound, and can only bite when a person approaches it or tries to grab it.

Length: 70–80 cm.
Habitat: found in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia, throughout northern Africa to Algeria.

Danger!
One of the ten most poisonous snakes. Aggressive and very fast.

Discussion on the website http://www.lugovsa.net/p/10081

*User lugovsa
“It's a strange name. The shape looks like something Italian, Spanish, or, in extreme cases, German. But in these languages, it seems, nothing like this is observed. Observed in a completely different area: Arabic... "viper", hence Farsi... "viper", Turkish efi "viper". It seems quite logical: Ephs are found exactly where these languages ​​are spoken. But then the stress, in theory, should have been on the second syllable.”

*User yuditsky
“Well, first of all, we need to mention the biblical Efe.”

* lugovsa
“This is true, but I can hardly imagine a borrowing into Russian from Hebrew, which did not leave a trace in Polish and Ukrainian (if this is a “new” borrowing from “Ashkenazim”) or in the whole bunch European languages, if it is old (Septuagint, etc.).”

1) Existing etymology

Wiktionary

Root: -ef-; ending: -a. Meaning: zool. a poisonous snake of the viper family, living in the deserts of North Africa and South-West and South Asia (lat. Echis).
Etymology (author unknown)
Comes from the Greek. echis "viper", further from goes back to the Proto-Indo-European. *angwhi- “snake”.

2) Biblical bestiary, see; http://ja-tora.com/bibleiskii-bestiarii-afie/

3) Application of the term in Russian

A) Hebrew and Chaldean etymological dictionary to the books of the Old Testament, O.N. Steinberg, Vilna, 1878; see http://greeklatin.narod.ru/hebdict/index.htm

EFE hissing reptile, echidna.

B) encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907

Efa. (Echis arenicola) - snake; see Vipers.

B) National Corpus of the Russian Language

The term has been recorded in the Corpus since 1955, previously used in the Hebrew and Chaldean dictionary by O.N. Steinberg, no other sources could be found.

* Sergey Bakatov. Quiet life in the terrarium (Notes veterinarian) // “Science and Life”, 2008

When the efa assumes a threatening pose, it is velvety and opalescent; warm color, from sandy to light brown; The scales, decorated on the sides with a chain of white beads, begin to vibrate continuously, which creates the illusion that they are moving in all directions at the same time. The epha in a state of excitement swells, and the sound it makes is similar to the sound of boiling oil if water gets into it.

4) Generalization and conclusion

The etymology presented by Wikipedia is puzzling; the Greek name echis viper cannot be identical to the biblical term EFA; why deduce from Greek something that is well known in biblical Hebrew.

5) Hebrew terminology and biblical image

A) Terminology

* EFA = Hebrew EFE snake, viper, echidna (genus of snakes, in Russian poisonous snake), asp.
See Strong 660, Epha;

* Yiddish EFA.

B) Biblical image

* Job 20:16: “He sucks the poison of serpents; The tongue of the viper (EFE) will kill him.”

* Isaiah 30:6: “Trouble is upon the living creatures that go south, through a land of oppression and distress, from whence come lionesses and lions, adders (EFE) and flying serpents; they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels to a people who will not benefit them.”

* Isaiah 59:5: “They hatch serpents’ eggs and weave webs; whoever eats their eggs will die, and if he crushes them, an echidna will crawl out (EFE).

Thus, the name of the snake EFA obviously belongs to Biblical Hebrew, possibly transferred into Russian from Yiddish; after the partitions of Poland Russian Empire there were more than a million Jews. The interpretation of Wikipedia (root -ef-, ending a, etc.) was done illiterately and not professionally.

The sand ephas is one of the ten most poisonous snakes in the world. Its venom causes profuse bleeding at the site of the bite, as well as from the mucous membranes of the mouth, eyes and nose. Hemorrhage may also occur in internal organs. About 20% of victims die from its bite. If the antidote is administered in time, the person can still be saved.

Sandy epha (lat. Echis carinatus) (eng. Saw-scaled Viper). Photo by Tim Vickers

Unlike their close relatives - common vipers, the sand epha has chosen as its habitat more arid and hotter places - the clayey deserts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the sandy expanses of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and India. There are no particular problems with the choice of shelter - most often these are thickets of bushes, cracks or gullies in river cliffs, or rodent holes.

The sand epha is a small snake. The length of her body rarely exceeds 75 centimeters. The color is dim, but beautiful. There are light zigzag stripes along the sides of the body, and on the head there is a light spot, shaped like a flying bird. The color of the scales, depending on the habitat, can vary from light brown to gray.

Her entire body is covered with ribbed scales. Several rows of lateral scales directed downwards serve the snake as “ musical instrument» to create a warning signal - a loud rustling sound, reminiscent of hissing.

Characteristics This snake is also known for its way of moving and its ability to make loud warning sounds. On the sand they move not like all snakes - in waves, but sideways, with short throws of the body to the side. It looks something like this: first the snake lifts its head to the side, then pulls the back part of its body towards it, and only then the front. As a result of this trajectory of the body’s movement, traces of individual oblique strips with curved ends become clearly visible on the sand.

These are quite fast and agile snakes, which plays into their hands when hunting small rodents, small snakes, lizards and various amphibians. The young animals are not yet able to handle such a large animal and therefore have to be content with crunchy locusts, centipedes, scorpions and other similar living creatures found in these places.

Most of the year they hunt during the day and only in the summer - at night, when the stifling heat subsides and the scorching sun sets. In late autumn and winter they hibernate, but sometimes they can come out to bask in the sun.

The breeding season occurs at the end of February - beginning of March and lasts about a month. The cubs are born in July-August. Unlike many other snakes, the sand ephas is viviparous snake. The female brings from 3 to 16 baby snakes.

Where they live: northeast Australia

Length: 3.5 meters

The strength of the venom is such that one bite can kill about 100 adults or 250,000 mice. Maximum dose (per bite) 100 mg.

The history of taipan exploration is associated with many dramatic events. For a very long time, people could not get this snake, and all the scientists’ information was based only on the legends of local residents about it.

The taipan was first described from a single specimen in 1867. In the next 56 years, no new information there was no information about this snake. However, at that time there was an urgent need to develop an antidote. After all, more than 80 people died from taipan poisoning in Australia every year.

Finally, on June 28, 1950, a young catcher from Sydney, Kevin Baden, went in search of this snake. He found the taipan, but when the catcher took the snake in his hands, it was able to dodge and bite his finger. Baden died, but the snake was still taken to the research center.

Mulga (Pseudechis australis) - Brown King

Habitat: Australia

Length: 2.5 - 3 meters

Mulga venom is considered highly poisonous and is produced in large quantities. In one bite average snake Mulga can secrete 150 mg of poison.

Mulga is found almost throughout Australia - all northern and most of western territory mainland. They can be found in all states except Victoria and Tasmania. Mulga habitats include forests, meadows, grasslands, deserts, deep crevices and abandoned burrows. They don't live in tropical forests.

Mulga feeds on other reptiles: snakes (including poisonous ones), lizards, frogs, as well as birds and mammals. Their body is well adapted to digest other poisonous snakes; their venom is not dangerous for the mulga.

Habitat: Australia, South Asia, islands of the Malay archipelago

Length: 1.5-2 m

One dose is enough to kill 10 people.

Prefers dry places rich in shelters (burrows, bushes, dead wood). Very often it crawls onto cultivated lands, into courtyards, and into people's houses. That is why there are so many cases of snake attacks on people.

The most common species is the pama or ribbon krait, found in India, southern China and Burma. Its one and a half meter body is covered with wide alternating yellow and black rings. Its venom is very strong, even a viper dies from the bite of this snake, although vipers are considered susceptible to many types of poison. If you encounter a krait during the day, there is little chance that it will attack. At this time, the snake is extremely lethargic, avoids the sun, seeks shade and moves slowly. If she is disturbed, she usually does not rush, but crawls to the side and curls up into a ring. But at night, kraits are extremely unfriendly; they can attack even if they are not threatened.

Their poison is very strong. A bitten chicken dies within 15 minutes, and one dose is enough to kill 10 people. The scientist Roussel conducted experiments to find out how the krait poison works. A dog bitten by a snake, 10 minutes after the bite, began to twitch its wounded limb and raised it up, but could still stand. After 5 minutes she lay down and started barking. Within 25 minutes of the bite, both hind legs were paralyzed. During the second hour, the paralysis worsened: the dog began to breathe heavily and died by the end of this hour.

Since kraits can lead a diurnal lifestyle, and, moreover, they are quite numerous, there are constant meetings between snakes and humans. More often than any other snake, the krait crosses the path of a traveler, penetrates not only into open huts, but even into locked houses, curling up on the threshold of a door, in the corner of a room, in a closet, and slips into bedrooms and bathrooms.

Where it lives: Australia, except for the northernmost regions, Tasmania and a number of islands off the southern coast

Length: 1.5-2 m

Among all the snakes that inhabit our planet, tiger snakes have the most powerful venom. Small animals bitten by a tiger snake die instantly, not even a few seconds pass. And all the poison contained in the glands of one snake is enough to kill 400 people! Snake venom affects nervous system the victim and paralyzes her. When the poison reaches the nerve centers that control breathing and heartbeat, the victim dies.

An encounter with a tiger snake is very dangerous, although local residents and reassure tourists. They say, despite the fact that the tiger snake is the most poisonous, it is the most cowardly: it never crawls into houses, does not deliberately rush at people and generally tries to stay away from them. Attacks only when defending.

The egg is viviparous and brings abundant offspring - usually up to 72 snakes. (There is a known case when 109 embryos were found during autopsy in a large female.

When excited, the tiger snake raises the front part of its body high, greatly flattening its head and neck. Small animals bitten by a tiger snake die instantly, literally without leaving the spot.

Habitat: India, South part China, Burma, Siam, Afghanistan, and southern regions Turkmenistan to the Caspian Sea

Length: 1.4-1.81 m

“When Buddha once wandered the earth and fell asleep under the rays of the midday sun, a cobra appeared, expanded its shield and shaded the face of the god from the sun. Pleased with this, the god promised her extreme mercy, but forgot about his promise, and the snake was forced to remind him of this, since the vultures were causing terrible devastation among them at that time. In defense against these birds of prey Buddha gave the cobra glasses, which kites are still afraid of today.”

As long as it is not disturbed, the snake lazily lies in front of the entrance to its home, usually basks in the sun, and when a person appears, as a rule, it quickly hides. Only when brought to the extreme does she rush at the attacker.

Cobra venom has neurotoxic effects. A minute later, complete paralysis sets in. I spectacled cobra so toxic that a chicken dies from its bite in 4 minutes, and a laboratory mouse dies in 2 minutes.

But the cobra never bites a person unless absolutely necessary, and even if it makes a throw towards the enemy, it often does not open its mouth (a fake throw). Never anger a cobra. Even if it is nearby, you should not hit the snake with a stick or throw any objects at it. This will only anger the reptile, and it will attack in self-defense.

Length: 70–80 cm

Habitat: found in the foothills and valleys of Central Asia, throughout northern Africa to Algeria

Lives in lumpy sands overgrown with saxaul, in clay deserts, thickets of bushes, on river cliffs and in ruins. In favorable conditions, efa can be very numerous. For example, in the valley of the Murgab River, over an area of ​​about 1.5 km, snake catchers produced more than 2 thousand ef.

Efa is an amazing snake. In many ways it differs from its cold-blooded counterparts. For example, ephas may not hibernate if the winter is not cold. They can mate in January. And by March, small snakes appear, while in other snakes they appear no earlier than June. Surprisingly, the efa does not lay eggs and gives birth to live snakes. The female brings from 3 to 16 young reptiles 10-16 cm long.

Despite the fact that the epha is one of the most poisonous snakes, it rarely attacks living creatures that are larger than a vole. Most often, its prey is centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, and midges. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the efa is quite nimble and cannot, like many snakes, simply lie in the sun. But in order to digest large prey, you need to be at rest for a long time.

Efa is characterized by sideways movement. She throws her head to the side, then brings the back of her body forward and pulls up the front of her body. This method creates better body support on a loose substrate. Because of this method of movement, a characteristic mark remains on the sand - individual oblique stripes with hooked ends.

Efa very rarely crawls into people's houses, but it still happens sometimes. Similar cases have been recorded in Egypt. You need to be especially careful with ruins or abandoned houses. In 1987, three children died in Cairo after finding a nest in an abandoned house where no one had lived for many years. The children entered this house out of curiosity and accidentally disturbed the ef family hiding there. The snake, protecting its newly born offspring, attacked the children. They could not be saved because the poison acted very quickly.

A first aid measure for a bite is to immediately suck out the venom from the wounds, so that a significant part of the venom can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the venom with your fingers and suctioning should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suctioning is completely safe for the people doing it. A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

Habitat: Australia, northern Africa, Brazil, Argentina, West Indies Islands

Length: from 60 cm to 2.5 m

The most common species are the Egyptian adder, the Coral adder and the Common adder. The Egyptian adder is the most poisonous snake of this kind. A person dies from its bite within 5 minutes. Its average size is about two meters. In coloring it resembles a spectacled snake. It is believed that the asp can cause harm not only when it bites, it can spit poisonous saliva at a distance of almost one and a half meters.

The common adder is found in Australia and New Guinea. Its length is up to 1.5 meters. It has a very unfriendly disposition, as it attacks everyone who comes in its way, be it a pet or a person. From its bite they die quickly and in terrible agony.

If the asp attacks, then there is very little chance of escape. Traveler Anderson told the following story: “One day my friend was collecting herbs. Suddenly, a snake, previously unnoticed by him, pounced and tried to bite his hand. Anderson, without hesitation, ran away. The snake would have been able to catch up with him, but this story ended unexpectedly - the running man did not notice the anthill, tripped and fell into the nearest ditch. The snake, apparently blinded by rage, rushed past without noticing that the man had fallen..."

There is a vaccine against asp venom. But the fact is that the poison acts with lightning speed. A person dies in 7 minutes, so there is simply no time to administer the antidote. 8 out of 10 people bitten die.

Habitat: South and South-West Africa

Length: from 50 cm to 3 meters

The venom of the African boomslang is 2 times more dangerous than the venom of a viper or Indian cobra.

The front teeth on the upper jaw have a groove. This is where the poison flows during a bite. The poison itself is very toxic. As soon as it enters the bloodstream, it immediately begins to destroy cells. Experiments were carried out, as a result of which ducks bitten by boomslang died from poison after 15 minutes, and paralysis occurred within a minute. The venom of the African boomslang is twice as dangerous as that of the viper or Indian cobra.

There is a known tragic incident in 1957. At this time, the famous American zoologist and specialist in reptiles, Carl Paterson Schmidt, died from a boomslang bite. He was trying to catch an African boomslang and study it: he grabbed the snake, and it was able to dodge and bite the zoologist on the hand. Dying, the scientist kept notes until the last moment in which he noted his condition.

Over the past 5 years, 23 people have died from the bite of the African boomslang. True, there are 2 times more deaths due to vipers, and almost 3 times more due to cobras.

With a boomslang, as with any other snake, you must be extremely careful: do not come close, do not anger the snake, do not make sudden movements.

Only through human fault does the boomslang become aggressive and attack. In 9 out of 10 cases, when meeting a person, the snake simply tries to hide. Don't touch the snake, then the snake won't touch you.

Habitat: South Africa

Length: up to 150 cm

The venom of the green mamba is very strong, it is even more toxic than the venom of some cobras. The green mamba can attack for no apparent reason.

Mamba - very beautiful snake. Her scales shimmer emerald green, with shades of blue and yellow. If a mamba attacks, there is very little chance of escape. The snake attacks without warning, and its venom acts so quickly that doctors do not even have time to administer the antidote on the spot, let alone bring it to the nearest hospital.

Of course, it is very difficult to notice this green snake in dense foliage. But still, if you are in places where green mambas can live, try to carefully monitor not only living creatures in the grass, but also look at the trees. If you notice a mamba in the leaves, do not take risks, but avoid it.

Habitat: Dagestan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya. Türkiye, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North-West India.

Length: up to 1.5 m

This is the viper, the local one is deadly dangerous snake. Despite the fact that a vaccine against its poison has now been invented, they often simply do not have time to administer it to the victim, and 20% of all those bitten die. Once in the blood, the poison begins to destroy red blood cells and causes blood clotting. Numerous internal hemorrhages, severe swelling in the bite area, and blockage of blood vessels occur. All this is accompanied by severe pain, dizziness, and vomiting. If prompt assistance is not provided, the person dies within 2-3 hours.

The number of these snakes is large. Up to 5 individuals live on one hectare. Moreover, sometimes vipers gather as a whole group. There have often been cases where up to 20 snakes were found under one small stone at once.

If nothing threatens the viper, it is very slow and prefers to lie in the sun or under some stone. She doesn’t even track prey, but waits, staying in one place. But such slowness and sluggishness are visible. The snake is slow when nothing and no one bothers it, but if necessary, it is capable of moving very quickly, including through trees. When danger appears, she quickly crawls to the nearest shelter. If its path is blocked, the viper emits a loud, threatening hiss and makes a sharp throw with its whole body towards the enemy.

The snake that will be discussed in this article belongs to the family of vipers, and they, in turn, are considered the crown of evolution of reptiles and are recognized as the most poisonous snakes in the world. Sandy efa, despite its beautiful appearance and quite friendly character, capable of poisoning her opponent in a matter of seconds strong poison, which, even after administration of the serum, will remind the bitten person of health problems for the rest of his life.

What does sand efa look like?

These cold blooded ones are no different large sizes, average length their body is 70–75 cm, and individuals over one meter long are very rare. Males are slightly larger than females. Their body is decorated with white spots, and two zigzag lines run along the sides, giving the snake an elegant and unusual appearance.

There is a design on the head that looks like a cross or a bird soaring in the sky. The eyes are large, round in shape, the color of the iris depends on the overall color of the scales, the pupil is vertical. The ventral side is light yellow, and the color of the scales can be either golden or brown - the exact color depends on the area where the snakes live.

The body of the epha is covered with small and rough scales, some of them grow in the opposite direction and are used by the snake to notify others of its appearance - they make a special sound, similar to a rustling or a kind of rustling.

Did you know? The sand epha is capable of jumping to a height of more than one meter and approximately three meters in length. An angry female, guarding her nest, will rush at her opponent with lightning speed without warning of the attack. That is why in mating season snakes are especially dangerous.

Is the bite dangerous for humans?

It is not for nothing that the sand epha is one of the ten most poisonous snakes on Earth. Every fifth person bitten by the sand ephas dies. The toxins contained in its venom have a special effect on the hematopoietic process - they sharply reduce the level of fibrinogen, a special protein responsible for blood clotting.
Without providing the necessary assistance, the bitten person will soon begin to bleed heavily - from the wound at the site of the bite, nose, ears and even throat. A particular danger is the long wait for the body's reaction to the poison - death can occur 40 days after the epha's bite.

It should be noted that these snakes prefer to lead a reclusive lifestyle and avoid meeting people. As practice shows, most efa bites occurred because of humans - the victims either stepped on the reptile or stirred up its nest, even if this happened unintentionally.

Where does he live?

Efa prefers to hide in thickets of branchy bushes that grow in sandy areas, on the banks of shallow rivers, as well as in areas where loess and clay soils predominate.
This type of poisonous snake is widespread in the deserts of India, northeast Africa and in the arid areas of countries East Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.

What does it eat?

Sand ephs differ from their relatives by their increased activity - they are in constant motion, even after a hearty lunch. The main part of the diet sand f-hole consists of various insects - locusts, beetles and centipedes. Adults are not averse to pampering themselves with small rodents, chicks and even small lizards.

Important! One of the main rules for providing first aid for a poisonous snake bite is to suck out the poison from the wound at the site of the bite. This technique significantly reduces the amount of toxins that enter the human blood. But this is effective only in the first ten minutes after the bite.

The snake goes out hunting after dark, but encountering it during the day is not uncommon.
True, on particularly hot days she does not leave her hole, preferring to move in the cool of the night. If the temperature drops slightly in winter, they can easily overwinter without hibernating.

Mating season and reproduction

Mating dances among Ephs begin with the beginning of winter, and mating begins in January. Another feature of this breed of snake is viviparity. The female gives birth to babies in March; in total, the offspring range from three to fifteen nimble babies. Their body length immediately after birth does not exceed 15 cm.

Now you know what one of the most poisonous snakes on the planet looks like. When planning to visit countries where you might come face to face with the sandfly, stay away from it. favorite places habitat - rocky cliffs and dense bushes.