The Coastal Taipan named Cyclone has produced a venom quantity three times the average in a single milking, breaking the record among its peers.
Zoo staff milking Cyclone’s venom. (Photo: Australia Zoo).
A captive snake in Australia has broken the world record by providing the highest amount of venom in a single milking, according to the animal’s caretakers. With just one bite, the Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) named Cyclone has released over 5.2 grams of venom, which is three times the average and enough to kill 400 people, as reported by Australia Zoo, located 50 kilometers north of Sydney in New South Wales.
“Cyclone is one of the most dangerous snakes in the park, known for being unpredictable and keeping us on edge all the time,” Live Science quoted Billy Collett, operations manager at Australia Zoo, on July 18.
The Coastal Taipan is among the most venomous snakes on Earth. They are native to the coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia, typically reaching lengths of 2 meters, according to the Australian Museum. Coastal Taipans have a rectangular-shaped head with a gray-blue snout and large brown-yellow eyes. Their bodies exhibit a range of colors from yellow to reddish-brown, dark brown, and black. According to Collett, while the Coastal Taipan may not be the deadliest snake species on the planet, they are highly aggressive and account for numerous fatalities from snake bites each year.
The previous venom milking record was held by another Coastal Taipan at the zoo named Whiplash, which produced 4.9 grams of venom in a single milking in 2022. Australia Zoo is the only facility in the country that milks Coastal Taipans to produce antivenom. The staff also extract venom from many other dangerous snake species, including the Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus), and Black Snake (Pseudechis).
Milking a snake is a risky job. The process of milking a venomous snake requires staff to securely hold the snake so that its fangs puncture a small plastic-coated glass vial and induce it to release venom. The venom is then freeze-dried, which means removing water at low temperatures, and sent to vaccine manufacturers.
The record amount of venom from Cyclone will contribute to saving human lives. Each year in Australia, there are about 3,000 snakebite cases, of which 500 require hospitalization and an average of 2 result in death. According to the Australian Snakebite Project, the Coastal Taipan bit 31 people from 2005 to 2015, although none were fatal.
