- The closer I get imagine if I was a leopard out there
in the jungle.
I approached this snake and
with a paw reached out to touch that tail.
(screaming) I'm fine.
- Calm down, just need you to stay calm.
We're gonna need the medical evac.
If you guys can help me talk to Coyote.
Ask him normal questions.
We need to keep him as calm as possible.
Be slow.
- Okay. - Okay.
You ride in the middle.
Keep it slow, okay?
Keep slow.
Do a quick check.
- (Coyote) Oh my God.
- [Paramedic] All right.
Just hang on there, dude.
Hang on, it's gonna be fine.
- Today we're filming an episode that features
one of the most dangerous snakes in all of South Africa.
The Mozambique spitting Cobra.
This reptile is primarily armed with a cytotoxic venom,
and a bite becomes an immediate medical emergency.
The crew and I are going to participate in a training drill
that will prepare us if the worst case scenario happens.
Are you ready?
Let's go.
All right.
Time to reveal the snake.
There it is, okay.
And.
(yelling)
Bite, Mike I got bit.
- Coyote freeze, back up
back up, back up.
Tyrone, can you secure that snake?
Hold still, hold still okay.
- Snake secured.
- Snake secure?
Good, Mario, can you grab me that chair please?
And pull it next to the pool table.
Sit down.
All right, let's get this shirt off real quick.
- [Coyote] The whole shirt?
Just the side if anything.
It's fine.
Calm down, just need you to stay calm.
Okay, hold still.
- [Coyote] It's gotta be that tight?
- Yep. We gotta keep these things nice and tight.
You see you're gonna see the perfect squares
as they come through.
- Okay.
- I'm gonna pull my gloves real quick.
All right. - Should I elevate my arm
at all or anything?
- Nope keep it lower than your heart.
- Okay.
- All right.
Let's get you up.
Nice and slow fingers tight.
- [Coyote] Keep them together?
- [Mike] Yep.
Let's keep it slow, okay?
Keep it slow?
Let's go ahead and get a move on this.
We're gonna roll out guys.
Anton's already called the local hospital
and he's got the antivenom to pass it to us.
So we can get it to the doctor as soon as possible
here as well.
- [Coyote] Oh my God.
- [Mike] And just hang on there, dude.
Hang on, it's gonna be fine.
- And that is about as fast as you would need to move.
If that worst case scenario presents itself.
If you are bitten by something
like a Mozambique spitting Cobra.
You literally have minutes to get yourself into a vehicle
and on your way to an emergency center.
That was intense.
Okay, now let's go film with the Mozambique spitting Cobra.
The Kwazulu Natal region of South Africa
is well known for its high density reptiles.
Today, we will be getting dangerously close
with the Mozambique spitting Cobra.
This is one of the world's most advanced venomous snakes.
And they're capable of doing this.
Accurately spitting potent venom
from a pair of modified front fangs
This venom is used as a defense.
Often aimed at the eyes of a would be attacker.
Which in turn would give the snake a chance
to escape the imposing threat.
Assisting with this extreme experiment
is reptile specialist Tyrone Ping.
He's here to help safely wrangle the snake,
if things get out of control.
I'm sure we are all curious to see how accurate the aim
of the snake really is.
And the only way to find out is to let one of these
deadly reptiles spit directly at my face.
All right, we are set.
The Mozambique spitting Cobra is right here
underneath this blue bucket.
Now a lot of this might happen really quickly.
These reptiles are incredibly accurate
with their spitting ability.
Let's see if we can catch it in slow motion.
All right, here we go.
I'm gonna get into position here.
Woo, definitely a little nerve-wracking.
All right, Tyrone, when you're ready
let's peel back the bucket and see what happens.
I'm right here, buddy.
Okay, staying calm at the moment.
Oh.
Oh geez.
I'm right here, I'm right here.
Look at my eyes.
Look into my eyes and hold on.
Oh wow.
Full shot straight into my face.
Holy cow.
Did you guys see that?
Look at the shield is completely coated.
What's unique about this cobra is you think
they would have to be completely reared up,
and hooded to be able to spit.
But they can actually spit from that lower angle.
And that's one way that they easily
trick any invading predator.
Think, all right I'm gonna be able to get in there
and get my food, but then ah, the Cobra does that.
Just like that with the face.
And that accuracy's unbelievable.
All I have to do is move in close.
Ah, and look at that.
How quick that is.
And that's a little bit less of a stream than I thought
but it seems just like a bunch of mist
as you're driving through let's say a car wash,
and it's like all over, all right.
Going in for another spritz.
The Mozambique spitting cobra is actually one
of the smaller Cobra species here in South Africa.
But this highly evolved defensive ability of the snake
specifically is what makes it so unique.
And if it is able to blind anything that's potentially
attacking it, that of course gives it the chance
to quickly make an escape.
Look at the precision.
All I need to do is move very slowly back and forth
and that snake does not lose its focus
on where my hand is at,
and specifically where my eyes are located.
Let's go for one more, even closer.
It's about as close as you probably wanna get
to spitting cobra right there.
Oh.
Every single time it makes you jolt.
Even though I feel completely protected behind this shield,
it never gets any less nerve wracking to be that close.
Now, one of the things that's the most interesting
about the fang design of this Cobra species,
is that it has evolved over millions of years
and they have fixed front fangs.
And in most instances where there's a little hole
in the tip of the Fang,
this has a modified Fang.
Where the hole is actually in the front,
and it has specialized muscles inside of the skull
that allow it to spit.
The closer I get imagine if I was a leopard
out there in the jungle.
I approached this snake and with a paw
reached out to touch that tail.
You get that reaction.
Ooh, and there you have it
a full face full of very painful venom.
And that venom is not used in any instance
for the snake to catch and kill its prey.
It's only a defense mechanism
but the venom that comes from the bite specifically
has neurotoxic and cytotoxic properties.
This is an incredibly potent bite.
And if I was bitten it would be an immediate
medical emergency.
And anti-venom would definitely need to be administered
if we were to save my life.
But the spitting aspects like you saw just there
will not kill you.
If it just gets ah, into your eye.
Wow, that was two double squirts right in a row.
Doesn't get much crazier than that.
Oh, one of the coolest and most famous influences
in relation to the spitting Cobra,
is of course the Dilophosaurus from "Jurassic Park".
And the filmmakers took the influence
of this animal's ability to design the Dilophosaurus,
Not only in the neck frills,
but also in that ability to spit venom.
And right now I definitely feel like Dennis Nedry, oh.
When it comes to getting shot in the face with toxic venom.
You could see the snake is just completely
locked in at the moment.
And that accuracy is impressive.
Venomous snakes don't want to use
their toxic powers on humans.
But if you make the foolish choice to harass
or interact with them,
the consequences can easily put you in the hospital.
Or in a worst case result, six feet underground.
- So at this point we are going to get the shield off of me
because I certainly don't want to keep walking around
with all the ability to accidentally wipe my fingers
on that, getting it in my eyes,
or in a worst case scenario,
somehow get it on Trent.
You guys have to understand,
I've never seen Trent as nervous as I was
when that Cobra got spit all over his camera.
And I don't know if that's because Trent is afraid
for his own wellbeing, or the camera's wellbeing.
But safety first, so we gotta make sure
that we get everything cleaned up
as best we possibly can.
And that's a wrap on the Mozambique spitting Cobra episode.
You know what I'm going to say next
but just in case you didn't pay close attention
to our 25 previous snake episodes.
Always admire these slithering reptiles
from a respectful distance.
If you plan on visiting South Africa,
and need help properly identifying its herps
make sure to check out Tyrone's newly published field guide.
To pick up a copy of your own,
click on the link in the video description below.