Ultimate pit viper - side view, Tatama National Park, Colombia
Here's a way to kick start a very early morning. Our guide Manuel, restless as always, was searching for reptiles in the night whilst we were asleep. He found this highly venomous pit viper and trapped it below a pan, to show it to us a few hours later.
This species has a notorious reputation. It is responsible for the majority of snake bites in Colombia and surrounding countries. Fatality rates have dropped a lot in recent times, but isn't zero in Colombia. Surviving a bite can still mean very serious injury. For example, a local girl working in a restaurant we saw was bitten as a child in her foot. I'll spare you the details of how her foot looks like now.
The local custom is to kill this snake on sight, which is why our guide did not tell any park ranger about it. Front view:
Top view:
"Bothrops asper" is a highly venomous pit viper species ranging from southern Mexico to northern South America. Sometimes referred to as the "ultimate pit viper", these snakes are found in a wide range of lowland habitats, often near human habitations.
