I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 184 The Dangerous Green Pit Viper

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Instructor Wu extended his left hand, pointing to his index finger, "At that time, I was bitten by a white-lipped green pit viper. Two fangs bit right here, on the tip and pad of this finger."

Fang Ye slapped his thigh, "Oh my, our zoo just introduced a white-lipped green pit viper."

The term "green pit viper" actually refers to a genus widely distributed across Asia, which includes dozens of different species of green pit vipers. The white-lipped green pit viper is more commonly found in the areas of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hong Kong.

He asked with concern, "So, what was your condition like at that time?"

There are many rumors online about green pit vipers, claiming they're not dangerous, that their venom isn't very potent, and that a bite merely causes swelling without being fatal, suggesting a person can recover on their own. These rumors are seriously misleading, leading people to underestimate the danger of green pit vipers.

The mortality rate from green pit viper bites is relatively low because they are small in size and produce less venom; for instance, a white-lipped green pit viper discharges only about a dozen milligrams of venom per bite. However, a low mortality rate doesn't mean the injuries aren't severe.

Guangxi Medical University once did a study on 146 patients bitten by green pit vipers. Although only two patients died, 85% experienced local swelling, 24% had skin and soft tissue necrosis, 35% had coagulation disorders, 11% suffered liver and kidney failure, and 5.5% developed multiorgan dysfunction. Once organ failure occurs, you're virtually one step away from the morgue.

These figures were based on patients who received medical treatment. Without prompt serum treatment, the fatality rate could be as high as 20. Therefore, you can't judge the toxicity of a venomous snake solely by the number of fatalities.

Instructor Wu took a sip of water and recalled, "Right after the bite, in less than 5 seconds, my finger started to swell, harden, and turn black. I panicked so much, I almost considered chopping off my finger. But fortunately, I remembered the treatment methods my master had taught me and immediately washed the wound with running water."

At that time, my colleagues saw I was bitten and quickly made a call to have a car come over. By then, after rinsing the wound under water until there was no blood coming out, I had one of them take a knife to cut the wound open further for bloodletting."

The blackening of the finger indicated that the area had started to necrotize, but the pain nerves were still active. It was excruciating when the knife cut into it, and I had to squeeze out the blood as well. It was painful, but at least I managed to drain out as much venom as I could."

Preparing to go have a look, Fang Ye said with a smile, "Instructor Wu, Instructor Jiang, I have a bit of business to attend to. How about I have my assistant take you to the dormitory to rest for a while? Here, this is the key to the dormitory; it has all sorts of toiletries, and this is a meal card with 1000 yuan for meal allowances."

The two took the key and meal card, exchanged a glance with an understanding between them, and courteously declined, "Director Fang, there's no need. We saw on the way here that your zoo is quite beautiful, and we'd really like to have a look around. We plan to take a tour first, and after that, we can head to the dormitory on our own."

"Oh, no problem! If anything comes up, just give me a call."

A ring-tailed lemur weighs only about 2kg, and Fang Ye had imported a total of 30 of them, adding up to just 60kg, so there was no need to call many people for help with moving them.

Seeing Lan Li with a solemn, contemplative look, Fang Ye patted her shoulder and said with a laugh, "Shall we go check out the ring-tailed lemurs together?"

Lan Li snapped back to reality and followed beside him, twisting her fingers and saying with a pained look on her small face, "Director, venomous snakes are so dangerous! Can't we keep non-venomous snakes instead? I'm really afraid someone will get hurt..."

She was truly afraid of snakes, feeling that they were much more dangerous than fierce beasts.

Just listening to Instructor Wu's recount of a snakebite was terrifying; her heart was pounding like crazy, daring not to breathe heavily, feeling like it was a miracle that Instructor Wu survived so many bites!

Fang Ye reassured her, "It's alright. Look, Instructor Wu has only been bitten by venomous snakes a few times over so many years, and with proper post-bite treatment, he's still alive and well.

"Having a venomous snake exhibit can help people correctly understand the risks of venomous snakes, identify some common venomous snakes, learn how to avoid snake attacks, and master some emergency measures for snakebites. That's very meaningful. We can't stop exhibiting them just because they are dangerous, right?"

Lan Li furrowed her brows in thought, then her eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration, and she looked at him eagerly, "Right, what if we put fake snake models in the display cases? It would be a win-win."

Fang Ye could not help but laugh and sigh, "You really are a clever little devil. How could fake things engage the visitors and make them interested in learning more?"

"Eh~" Lan Li said somewhat dejectedly, "It won't work? Then what should we do?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn