There are three kinds of snake venom: that from a juvenile snake sinks; from a middle-aged snake is found in the mid-section of a liquid, and that from an old snake floats on the top.
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest venomous snake in the world. Its bite delivers a tremendous amount of paralysis-inducing neurotoxins. The snakes venom is so strong and so voluminous that it can kill an elephant in just a few hours.
Using venom as medication is not a recent innovation. 'The first venom-based medicine is from the 1970s, but using venom goes back millennia,' says Ronald. 'People in ancient India, for example, were always exposed to snake venoms, and snake venoms do biological stuff.
Kenya is home to a wide variety of venomous snake species, many of which pose significant medical risks due to the potent effects of their venom. Out of the 140 identified snake species in Kenya, 29 are venomous, with 13 species being medically significant.
