SNAKES!

[ingrid28]

Does anyone know anything about the amount of poisonous snakes that might be living in Korea? I'm in Gangwon-do and love hiking, but don't want to get bitten!!!

Any advice?

[Robot]

I saw a snake on the outskirts of Daegu once. It was fighting a crow which was pretty badass.

Apparently there are a few venomous snakes around (And one that's really really venomous called 살무사 :salmusa ) but in general I would say you're pretty safe.

Just avoid them if you see them. Don't poke them with sticks.

[Canonite]

eek...really? I never thought Korea had venomous snakes...thanks for the heads-up, I like to be outside as much as possible...how big are they?

[Robot]

Does anyone know anything about the amount of poisonous snakes that might be living in Korea? I'm in Gangwon-do and love hiking, but don't want to get bitten!!!

Any advice?

Here's it's wikipedia listing. It's Japanese name is the mamushi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamushi

There's a better picture of one over here: http://awalts.com/archives/469

[ironopolis]

Does anyone know anything about the amount of poisonous snakes that might be living in Korea? I'm in Gangwon-do and love hiking, but don't want to get bitten!!!

Any advice?

First and foremost, don't worry. I've done lots of hiking in Korea and struggle to remember seeing any snakes.  I have seen them, but the frequency of seeing and how noticeable they were have both been so low that it makes it hard to remember. I've certainly never been surprised in a "oh XXXX it's a snake" kinda way by one.

Also, take that wiki entry with a pillar of salt or several. 7 days in hospital plus 31 days outpatient treatment in Japan would probably be a day or two in hospital and being sent home pretty soon thereafter in most of our home countries - although I'm sure I'd be a tad less blase had I been bitten by one, I guess :o The Japanese don't hike as much as Koreans, but I did have one student when I taught in Japan who was madly into hiking, would go at least a couple of times a week and whose 1 to 1 classes rarely didn't involve her talking about a hike she'd been on. She sometimes mentioned overgrown, off the beaten track places where mamushi snakes were known to be, but she'd never been bitten herself, nor come close to it, nor knew anyone else who had.

I don't think there any snakes here that will actively attack humans, and the only risk would seem to be one acting in self-defence if you happened to both fail to notice it in your path and stood on it. If you're hiking in the summer along trails that are a little bit overgrown, then it's probably a good idea to always wear boots, socks and long trousers to be on the safe side. But mostly, just relax about it.

[ingrid28]

Good to know that you're all pretty confident that it's safe. It puts my mind at ease, as doing a lot of hiking this weekend!

Good to have some reasoned information, some of the websites out there can make this stuff sound kind of scary.

Especially, where snakes and spiders are concerned!

[Damien]

They seem to be in rivers lol. I asked my students how their vacation was. They could choose between fantastic, good, okay, bad, and horrible. One girl said horrible and I asked her why. She got bit by a poisonous snake while swimming lol. I had no idea that was an issue here.

[anthonybrooks]

I have seen a Pitt Viper over here before...   you would not want to get bitten by one of those.

[MTBman]

Yes, there are pit vipers here.  I often see what's left of them after a car has run over them when I'm riding my bike out in the countryside near the rice fields.  I've only seen one snake in person and it slid into a hole on the edge of a rice paddy as quick as could be.   You may have noticed that Korean rice farmers often wear heavy rubber boots that reach up to just below their knees.  They wear those boots because there are snakes in their rice fields.  Unless you are a rice farmer, you probably won't get close enough to warrant buying a pair of those rubber boots. 

Snakes follow their prey, so they'll likely be in or near the rice paddies and near the rivers.  I think the pit viper one poster referred to is rear fanged and medium poisonous, which won't kill you but will make you pretty sick if you are bitten.   There is a youtube video of a Korean pit viper, which some GI picked up and it bit him.  He spent about a week in the hospital. 

I have never seen a venomous snake while hiking either.  If you are worried, carry a stick or get one of the Korean hiking poles and move it back forth on the ground and vegetation on an overgrown trail.  And, of course, be very careful where you step or place your hands when you get near the summits and have to do a little rock climbing.

In general the basics of being in snake country will probably take you safely down that trail.  Don't try to pick them if you do see one.  Leave them alone.  Walk a safe distance around it and go about your business.  Do watch where you step in brush.  You can use a hiking pole to warn any reptiles if you are worried.  Do watch where you put your hands if you have to haul yourself up a mountain.  Chances are that any venomous snakes you may see are just as afraid, or more afraid than you are and they will want to quickly slither away.  Let them go and wish them a nice day.  It's really a treat to see them.  But don't get too close or try to be a hero picking them up.  Leave them alone and they will most likely leave you alone.  Korea does not have any aggressive venomous snakes like the Black Mamba, but all pit vipers are basically ambush predators. 

With all that said, relax.  You're going to be fine.  You're in more danger from one of the buses here than in being bitten by a pit viper or another korean poisonous snake.

[pak yu man]

There are no poisonous snakes in Korea.

[MTBman]

Not true.  I'm into snakes.  Look it up for yourself.  I've never stopped to open the mouths of the snakes, which were squished flat by cars on the road.  I don't want to be poked accidently by a fang.

[pak yu man]

Not true.  I'm into snakes.  Look it up for yourself.  I've never stopped to open the mouths of the snakes, which were squished flat by cars on the road.  I don't want to be poked accidently by a fang.

If you were into snakes you'd know the difference between poison (contact/injestion) and venom (injection).  There are no poison snakes in Korea :)

I am also into snakes...I'm one of the few Canadians to be bitten by a cobra in Canada.  Now that's a story...

[MTBman]

Thanks for the correction, but they're still venomous.  I once rode a mountain bike over a six food Western Diamondback on the road that runs behind Stanford University.  I like learning about snakes but I don't handle them.  Kudos to you, if you do. 

[MTBman]

Pak Yuman, would you share your story of being bitten by a cobra in Canada?  Sounds like a good story.  Sorry that it happened to you.  I've been lucky only to have been stung by honey bees in the US or anywheres. 

When I was a kid, I used to collect snakes from around our house in the country and keep them for a while.  I come from upstate NY, so that is copperhead and massagua country, but i never had any problems with them.  However, once i was outside in the lawn and saw a long, dark tail disappearing into the high grass bordering out large side yard.  I ran over and stepped on it--stipid kid thing to do-- and a black, triangular-shaped head came vertically up out of the grass towards me.  I let go of the snake's tail with my foot and beat a hasty retreat.  The snake disappeared just as quick. 

I also used to see shed rattlesnake skins with the buttony rattles on them on the ground near a hiking trail I used to hike on there.  I used to worry about venomous snakes lurking on the sides of the trails, but I never saw or heard any.  It almost seems to be a kind of an urban myth that a venomous snake is going to bite you if you even deviate from a trail by a centimeter.  For the most part, they really want nothing to do with you unless they feel cornered, or you get too close to them. 

[pak yu man]

A long time ago in a Canada far far away a stupid kid went to university.  His university had a well know (if you are in the field) reptile lab that produced/experimented with venoms/poisons.  Every summer for about a month there was a science expo type thing designed to get high school students (especially women) interested in science/engineering.  We had the various science and engineering demos (always cool looking stuff), but we needed an attention grabber.  Nothing grabs attention like a guy holding a freakin huge boa.  That's all we had the first year.  The second year we added a 'snake farm'.  So 2nd year the boa was getting angry (imagine being picked up and touched all day long).  So I called snake lab guy and he told me to come in and swap snakes.

He let me in the lab and said "don't touch anything".  Whatever...I'm a 2nd year university student with 6 weeks of snake handling experience.  So I try to pick up a cobra.  Doing everything properly.  In turned around and nipped me on the hand.  A full dose probably wouldn't have killed me, but luckily that little beast was milked about 30 mins before so there was very little venom in the bite.

Imagine taking your hand and sticking it over a lighter flame for about 5 mins.  That's what a tiny amount felt like.  So Dr.reptile (the lab guy) rushes me to the hospital and they have no clue what to do.  He has the anti venom on him, but they are not going to stick random drugs into me.  he had to inject me behind their backs (really bad thing to do) when they were trying to figure out where to get anti-venom from.  Nothing was said and I was gone a little while later.  I wasn't allowed in the lab ever again.

[MTBman]

Thanks for telling your story.  It's pretty wild. 

I have heard another story of a guy who went running in a field in Southern California, who after he returned from his run found an unusual set of prick marks on the back of one of his legs.  The storyteller said that they thought it was from a rattlesnake trying to bite the guy while he was running, but had been unable to really sink their fangs into him.  According to the storyteller, the runner never felt any side effects at all. 

I saw a few more squashed snakes on the road yesterday while I was riding for a couple of hours.  I always feel sorry to see them flattened like pancakes on the pavement, when they could be helping to keep the vermin populations in check.  Cheers.