The Apache sentinel., 1944-04-28

Poisonous Reptiles OF the WO
In the United States alone,
will kill 10000 people annual
an average death of probably
100"
Of the 2, 400 different kinds
of snakes which inhabit the
world, less than 200 are poi
sonous and only about 35 of the
poisonous kinds are found in the
United States.
The poisonous snakes found in
Arizona belong to two families: The
Coral snakes and the Pit Vipers
tRattlers). We can also add one
poisonous reptile to that list, the
Gila Monster.
Corals Are Silent
The poisonous Coral snake has
colorful red, yellow and black trans
verse rings and is distinguished
from the harmless variety of Coral
snake by it's black snout and the
fact that its yellowish ring is bor-
dered on each side by black ring.
It is often quite small, and hardly
ever grows longer than feet in
North America. They tend to bur-
row in soft damp ground and usual
ly come out only at night or after a
rain; they feed mainly upon other
snakes and lizards. It's bite is dan
gerous because of the highly toxic
character of its poison.
Rattlers Most Dangerous
The Pit Vipers, or Rattlesnakes,
often grow as large as 6 feet long,
and account for about 95 per cent
of the deaths frcm snakebite In
Arizona, can be found the western
diamond, the red diamond, the Pa
cific and the prairie. There can also
be found the western massasuga
and the western pigmy rattler, the
Texas rock rattler, the tiger and the
black-tailed rattler, the speckled
and faded and Great Basin rattlerS
and the Wizards, Prices and the
green rock rattler. The little side
winder, SO called because of the sim
uouS track he leaves in the sand, is
also found here. The copperhead, a
pit viper without rattleS, grows to
four feet in length and is hard to
discern in foliage. It has reddish
brown hour glass shaped marks 60
ing over the back, set of by the
light buff or reddish tan ground COL
or. %
-RattlerS are usually dull and
dark-toned in comparison with the
Coral snakes. A diamond or chew
ron in brown or gray on a light tan
ground is often the basis of the col
or pattern. They all are character
lied by having a small pit in the
side of the head between the eye
and the noStril
Keep Away
The best advice in dealing with
supposedly poisonous reptiles is to
leave them alone if possible. Rat
tiers do not leap through the air
to bite as is generally supposed.
They strike usually from an S.
shaped position and leave the last
one-third of their body on the
ground for leverage. Hence one is
safe if he is two-thirds of their
body length away from them. The
sound of whirring rattle on the
tail tip gives one warning to stay
away.
Besides snakes discussed above, a
poisonous lizard, the ella Monster,
is found in Arizona. It may grow
to 2 feet in length and is recognized
7 by its covering of coarse bead-like
scales, which are salmon-red and
black in a blotched pattern Be-
cause of the placement of its fangS
and the arrangement of its teeth,
in order to poison its victim, the
Gila monster must bite with both
front and back teeth and while lay
ing on its back One third of the
Gila Monster consists of club-like
tail, in which it stores fat. In the
warm sun, it can move very rapidly
on its short legs.
First Aid Measures
Despite the fact that snakcbite is
not a common occurrence, one
should be prepared to cope with it.
The snake bite should be treated
immediately. If a physician is not
available, the following first aid
measures should be taken
l. Apply constructing band
: above bite just tight enough to
prevent absorption and not inter
fer eentirely with the flow Of