Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Photograph by Wilbur E. Garrett
Only a foot long and a beautiful emerald green the Hanuman snake is extremely poisonous, often deadly. It is named for the fearless, super-agile leader of the benevolent army of monkeys—“It jumps, it flies, it is skillful like Hanuman in battle.”


one for spider lovers..


Portal, Arizona

Photograph by Paul A. Zahl
Shy, fragile, virtually harmless, tarantulas still can't shake their horror-movie image. Like almost all spiders they are venomous, but they rarely bite people, and there has never been a reliable report of a human death from the venom.
Spiders cannot eat solid food. Instead, they pump digestive fluids into their prey, then suck up the dissolved body parts. A tarantula will sometimes kill a small animal like a snake, frog, or bird, but crickets, beetles, and other insects are more typical prey.

can you spot this one?


Loango National Park, Gabon, Africa

Photograph by Michael K. Nichols
Camouflaged by its colors and patterns, an extremely venomous Gabon viper is barely visible on the forest floor.


At 18 pounds (8 kilograms) the Gabon viper is the heaviest venomous snake in Africa. It also has the longest fangs of any snake, up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) long.



Gabon

Photograph by Michael Nichols
J. Michael Fay of the Wildlife Conservation Society holds a chameleon. Fay endured a yearlong trek across African forests from Congo to Gabon, surveying the region's still pristine landscape.