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poisonous snakes in Korea
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captain kirk



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:14 am    Post subject: poisonous snakes in Korea Reply with quote

I've encountered poison ivy lately twice and met with horrendous rashes on my forearms. I've read up about woodticks after seeing them. The other thing is poisonous snakes. I've asked the kids about them and they've all seen at least one snake. Their 'one snake' was dead on the road, or the trail, but usually they were 'on the mountain'. A webcrawler search for 'poisonous snakes in South Korea' reveals no links.
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oneiros



Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Location: Villa Straylight

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've gotten conflicting stories on the poisonous snakes issue. This is actually a major point of concern for me, because my students claim that there are a lot of snakes in my area.

Most Koreans I talk to say there are poisonous snakes in the mountains. I asked them what colour the poisonous snakes are, and they said, "The same as a not poisonous snake", which, as far as I can tell, is brown or red.

I still haven't even seen a snake though, so they might just be trying to scare me.
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inexhile



Joined: 18 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

whilst resting near a temple on a school outing, I leaned against a bank and bothered a snake. It slivered off up the hill a bit more. I was dead excited and wanted to catch the critter for an unusual pet. But when I asked for aid in this endeavour, the koreans shreiked with joy and alarm. It was very poisonous (flower snake I believe, about 2 1/2 foot long, light green), but it is also extremely lucky for you to get close to one. Everyone bought me cakes and fried chicken that day.
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oneiros



Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Location: Villa Straylight

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

inexhile wrote:
It was very poisonous (flower snake I believe, about 2 1/2 foot long, light green), but it is also extremely lucky for you to get close to one. Everyone bought me cakes and fried chicken that day.

Presumably, the lucky bit being that you got close to one and didn't die. Very Happy

Cool story. Glad it wasn't me. Wink
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posco's trumpet



Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Location: Beneath the Underdog

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

POISONOUS SNAKES OF KOREA:



Honorary poisonous snake:
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ThePoet



Joined: 15 May 2004
Location: No longer in Korea - just lurking here

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you want to know if it is poisonous...I once heard a little saying that is supposed to tell you if the snake is poisonous:

"Red on Black -- Venom Lack, Red on Yellow, Kill a fellow"

hmmmmm....or was that the other way around? Twisted Evil Evil or Very Mad

just kidding, it really is the one I quoted.


no really, it is.
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hellofaniceguy



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: On your computer screen!

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:11 pm    Post subject: Re: poisonous snakes in Korea Reply with quote

captain kirk wrote:
A webcrawler search for 'poisonous snakes in South Korea' reveals no links.



With or without legs?
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intergalactic



Joined: 19 May 2003
Location: Brisbane

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Red on black, venom lack??
What about Australia's red-belly black snake?

I have been keeping my eyes open for info on snakes since 1998, but no luck so far.

No 'Reptiles of Korea' book, nothing.
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azzwell



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: where the girls from Super Junior cannot find me

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in a rural area, near Pohang, and see snakes on a fairly regular basis on my walks and bike rides. They are green and black, about a foot long. Do not know if they are posinous though.
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rok_the-boat



Joined: 24 Jan 2004

PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 9:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live near a mountain - saw a brown snake right outside my house. Also had a caterpilar in my house - Jine - they are big, and poisonous - kinda like a Korean scorpion except that they have their poison in their front feet, I think. They can kill, I hear, but usually just leave you writhing in pain.
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candu



Joined: 16 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[b]The poisonous one here is called "salmosa" or "mamushi" in Japanese. It is a viper (adder) and tends to be tan/brown, with darker markings along the body. I've seen two - both alive and both hiking - one on Bukhansan and one on Gwanaksan, and I've been warned on other mountains by Korean hikers to watch out. I guess the bite could kill you if you were unlucky and didn't get to the hospital fast. (Apparently without antivenin, the recommended treatment would include dialysis). It would at least make you pretty sick, and according to photos I saw someplace, the salmosa's venom can do some pretty raunchy (ie tissue degenerating) things to fingers, toes, etc. Anyway, I suppose a lot more snakes get it from Koreans than vice versa...[/b]
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djsmnc



Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Poisonous snakes have a wider head because of venom sacks. They also usually have prominent fangs. If the snake has a narrow arrowhead, it is probably nothing to worry about, though it, like any animal that can bite, will possibly be carrying some nasty germs.

"Red and black, poison lack", etc...is a direct reference to coral snakes. The have rings that go down their body, red yellow and black. and the red and yellow rings are more apparent or something. I highly doubt there are any of those in Korea....

I'm not a zoologist by any means, but I did catch a huge cotton mouth snake (very deadly) a few years ago...and we have a lot of snakes back home in North Carolina. I think the only snakes you have to worry about in Korea are hagwon owners...
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kimchikowboy



Joined: 24 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coral Snakes

It is useful to be able to identify the dangerous species of
snakes. However it is not always easy. Coral snakes are probably
the easiest to properly identify, they are small (usually no more
than about 30 inches long, sometimes up to 40 inches), thin,
brightly colored, and have small heads. They can be distinguished from
the nonvenomous king snake and other harmless mimics by the presence
of adjacent red and yellow bands. Milk snakes, king snakes, and the other
mimics have adjacent red and black bands:

Red touch yellow - kill a fellow
Red touch black - venom lack.

Another mnemonic is to think of a traffic light. If red is adjacent
to yellow, stop!



Found the previous, though already knew the basics from life in the woods back home. No word if any of these snakes are "good for men."
I also remember an episode of MASH where they couldn't figure out what was wrong with a sick soldier. He had one puncture wound, and eventually Hawkeye deduces that he was bitten by a one-toothed serpent. Thus ends my knowledge of Korean snakes, though as a frequent hiker and fisherman, this has been informative.
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Zed



Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Shakedown Street

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

candu wrote:
The poisonous one here is called "salmosa" or "mamushi" in Japanese. It is a viper (adder) and tends to be tan/brown, with darker markings along the body.
Thanks for this. I already used it successfully in a lesson.
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phaedrus



Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps hiking in pants and thick socks is a good idea.
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