Secrets Of Fer De Lance - Costa Rica's Deadliest Snake

Are you planning to travel in Central America? One of the best countries to visit is Costa Rica. You may find a variety of things to do there as well as exploring nature and wildlife particularly as you get to visit their national parks. As a matter of fact, you can find the deadliest snakes in the world living a solitary life in the southern most part of Costa Rica in Corcovado National Park. The Fer De Lance, is considered one of the most fierce and most violent snakes in the world.

This particular type of snake has a white to olive underbelly with dark (brown to black) triangular markings all the way up their body. The top half of its head is dark and the bottom is light. Juvenile and adult Fer De Lance have different color patterns. It has pale yellow or cream-colored bands crisscross in the back and sides of the body, that shape a dark diamond pattern. The luster of these dark triangles is velvety and the triangles connect slightly on the back which some describe as a butterfly. Its head is large, triangularly shaped, and conspicuously wider than the neck. This pit viper has a deep, visible, heat-detecting pit between each eye and nostril. The eyes are large and have a vertical pupil. The scales along the head and back are keeled. Plus it can grow up to 3 meters in length.

This particular species of snake can inject around 260 mg of venom per bite and record says that some can even inject 800mg! You will even be amazed after hearing that a single bite of a this particular snake has the power to kill at least 32 people! This infamous viper's large size, long fangs, and high venom production and toxicity are paired with an active and edgy disposition, making it one of the most dangerous creatures one can find in Costa Rica. It is the most dangerous snake in Central America and causes the most snakebite-related deaths among humans in Costa Rica. Venom from this species contains an anticoagulant and causes hemorrhaging.

This nocturnal serpent is more active on the ground as an adult but as a juvenile may prefer the day and low vegetation. They start eating frogs but prey size increases as the snake grows larger. It passes the day coiled up and hidden in vegetation, at dusk it will hunt along roads or trails through dense grass and forest. It is not afraid of human dwelling areas.