bear grylls's snake :eek:

[spiritofold]

Im not a great fan of bear grylls, he always seems so hyper. There was a prog on this evening where he captured a puff adder, hit it with a gert great rock and then ripped its head off. He went on to say about how the fangs were still dangerous even though the snake was dead.

Soooo, my question is:

Where do snakes store the poison, i mean the actual location of the poison glands.
Its all well just ripping the snakes head off, but what if the poison is stored lower down in the body? Or is it just in the head?

Just made me wonder. Not that im likely to be in Namibia hunting puff adders!

Andy >>>>>-----------------------------<>

 

[Kepis]

I believe the venom is in sacs located in the head of the snake

 

[Forest fella]

The poison gland is a sack over the jaw inside the mouth,So the headless body is safe,Probably not tasty,but safe

 

[firecrest]

its that tit holding the snake you need to be scared of.

 

[hiho]

true firecrest :-D

 

[Sniper]

The venom sac is usually located either in the head or just behind, so providing you take the head off plus a bit further back say maybe 6 inches you will be perfectly safe. Trying to capture and kill the snake in the first place is a different thing altogether. I have eaten snake in the past and it's actually not bad tasting, although the one I ate was a constrictor, not a viper. I must also point out that at the time I was on a military survival course and we had not eaten much at all for 36 hours prior to our snake pie. Well BBQ Boa actually. uppy_dog

 

[Shambling Shaman]

The venom sac is usually located either in the head or just behind, so providing you take the head off plus a bit further back say maybe 6 inches you will be perfectly safe. Trying to capture and kill the snake in the first place is a different thing altogether. I have eaten snake in the past and it's actually not bad tasting, although the one I ate was a constrictor, not a viper. I must also point out that at the time I was on a military survival course and we had not eaten much at all for 36 hours prior to our snake pie. Well BBQ Boa actually. uppy_dog

That 6 inches would be on a sliding scale in ratio to the size of the snake?

 

[jojo]

its that tit holding the snake you need to be scared of.

It's just the way you said that!!

 

[spiritofold]

So i spose the same would go for adders over here? *** (hypothetical!!!!!) ***
Adders are so rare round here that its lucky if you just catch a glimpse of them, very small as well!

What about sloworms, (i know its not a snake!) i've never seen mention of them for wild food? I wonder how edible they are?

Andy >>>>>--------------------------------<>

 

[dwardo]

Not really a fan of Bear but it was bloody funny when the bushman were saying "yeah go on bear you just crawl in the hole and drag out the porcupine !" whilst giggling :yelrotflm
Then almost as funny was when the porcupine came hurlting out and the bushman allmost climbed up Bears back to get out :yelrotflm

If you take the show for what it is ie. "entertainment" i think its a laugh !

 

[TobyH]

Snake tastes ok, had a puff adder in Namibia last year. However, why on earth didn't he gut it? It's incredibly easy and there's alot less risk on contamination...

But then he's a muppet anyway so wouldn't be a great loss

 

[Bernie Garland]

its that tit holding the snake you need to be scared of.

Nice one firecrest.

Bernie

 

[spiritofold]

Not really a fan of Bear but it was bloody funny when the bushman were saying "yeah go on bear you just crawl in the hole and drag out the porcupine !" whilst giggling :yelrotflm
Then almost as funny was when the porcupine came hurlting out and the bushman allmost climbed up Bears back to get out :yelrotflm

If you take the show for what it is ie. "entertainment" i think its a laugh !

I was hoping that it would get him

 

[Dirty Karlos]

I have no problem with Bear (Edward!). I think he is a likeable and knowledgeable enough chap, it's just that his program is 'sexed up' for the benefit of a younger audience who may not give the likes of Ray Mears a second watch. Let's not forget that this is CH4, the channel that provides us with Big Brother *spits* and the like. Just take it as entertainment, you can't take Bear's acheivements away from him, he seems ok to me.

 

[mick spain]

I have no problem with Bear (Edward!). I think he is a likeable and knowledgeable enough chap, it's just that his program is 'sexed up' for the benefit of a younger audience who may not give the likes of Ray Mears a second watch. Let's not forget that this is CH4, the channel that provides us with Big Brother *spits* and the like. Just take it as entertainment, you can't take Bear's acheivements away from him, he seems ok to me.

Well said DK, he is a bit hyper for me, gets too excited, but it is a way of teaching everyone remembers what he does. Although I have never met him, I would imagin he is alright in the real

 

[Kai Leingod]

I'm sorry bear grylls was drinking his own urine in a situation that I have been told would be easier to commit suicide, I have no respect for him what so ever (he is rather brave that or hazard pay has gone up)

You can usually tell where the venom sacs are on a snake due to the fact they bloat out but it depends on the snake.
Can't say I've eaten one but I hear it tastes like chicken

 

[craeg]

So i spose the same would go for adders over here? *** (hypothetical!!!!!) ***
Adders are so rare round here that its lucky if you just catch a glimpse of them, very small as well!

What about sloworms, (i know its not a snake!) i've never seen mention of them for wild food? I wonder how edible they are?

Andy >>>>>--------------------------------<>

Interesting point Andy about them as a food source but remember that slow worms are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from being killed, injured or sold and are much less common than they used to be.

Slow worms are, as you said not snakes but legless lizards (born that way not done with alcohol ). I remember as a kid living in NW Australia we had friends who were from the local Aboriginal people and we did play and occasionally eat with them. Lizard and snake was quite often on the menu and it tasted ok as I remember but I don't recall if it tasted like chicken!

Funny now I have trouble getting my kids to even eat cockles, clams, mussels or vegetable!

Craeg

 

[Melonfish]

given the choice between possible survival drinking my own urine or suicide i think i'd choose the slim chance at survival myself tbh.
bear i like but i don't like the setup nature of the programmes, i think in a more natural les stroud light he might be seen a bit better.
also don't get me on the family not eating things, the missus is mostly veggie as she can't stand the taste of meat and there NO WAY she's trying seafood or even rabbit. she won't even entertain that i want to keep rabbits for eating.
pete

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I've eaten plenty of rattlesnake. They are like weeds here in the desert.

One important thing to remember is that when you kill the snake and cut off its head, you should CAREFULLY bury that head right away.

More than one person has been bitten by a "dead" rattlesnake. The head will continue to bite and the fangs to be poisonous after it is separated from the body! Even a scratch from the fangs can be serious.

Otherwise, they're great!
Taste like chicken! ::laughing::
Really nice, white meat!

 

[V8Mondo]

I think that whether you like, or loath, Bear Grylls or Ray Mears, for that matter...you have to appreciate what they are doing for the outdoors and bushcraft in particular. Not to mention a lot of other old skills worth keeping.

I appreciate what they are trying to do. As well as making a living of course. I like to think that young people will learn and pass on these skills so that their childrens, children learn them too !

If it wasn't for people like them on TV, I think that a lot of outdoor activities and sports would not gain the interest of the young people that follow in our footsteps. It is the future of our 'Interest' whether Survival skills or Bushcraft. After all, if its not for that, what are we all considering surviving for?

Come to think of it, would this forum be here without them, or people like them, gaining the interest of the people here?

I know that the TV programmes glamourise the survival thing - making it look really easy to just survive, climb down from or even 'jump' from Mountains, eat anything that crawls past and make it out of there...easy! Of course, we all know its not!

But the point is that once people have an interest and find forums like this one...we put them right...Don't we?