King Cobra Venom Extraction

[CadetCPL2606]

This seems like an Awesome job to have. I wouldnt mind working with venomous snakes. But what kinda qualifications do you need to have? What kinda of field do you need to study in? If needed.

[XxBrandon0147xX]

Good thing cobras are one of the slowest striking snakes.

[SSJ2Starscream]

who is the hot girl in the orange hat

[kyreptilezoo]

@SSJ2Starscream That is one of our old interns, who now works at a zoo in the midwest.

[ezikyt]

Many you please tell me how bellydancer learn to play with snakes? And I want to learn.

thanks

e-mail:euro_m@abv.bg

[bashiircali22]

Now Cobra is not a King , but Man is King of Cobra 

[chamber311]

OMG..!! great..!!

[lauryn1011133]

I cant tell if that guy was brave or stupid! well i live in kentucky and i know we have some fearless people here. that was pretty cool tho

[craicbaby]

That made me nervous just WATCHING!

[Supportahol]

You are a brave guy i'll tell you that!

[Qdrum803]

this guy has some balls

[zaheercy]

wondering why u r doing this in outdoor?

[kyreptilezoo]

@zaheercy The indoor area was too small for the public to watch- we now have a larger area inside so we do not typically take them out any more. This is a pretty old video.

[theopat1999]

how old where you when you first got intreasted in snakes and other reptiles and how did get involved in your line of work?

[kyreptilezoo]

@theopat1999 Jim was 6 or so when he first got interested, he got a job extracting from king cobras when he graduated from high school. He was working for a researcher at a university.

[evildead0]

Jim is the man!!!!

[trabang]

whats he say at 2:20?

[kyreptilezoo]

@trabang he was telling a story about how a film crew got footage in which it looked like he was giving the audience the finger- he was not, it just looked kind of like that because he is missing the first finger on that hand. (From a weight lifting accident, not snakes.)

[HOPSING08]

I sure hope you guys use a different approach to getting ahold of the snake now days. Seems a little reckless.

[kyreptilezoo]

@HOPSING08 What would your approach be? Having a large area and room to move around actually makes it more safe.

[HOPSING08]

@kyreptilezoo Just seems reckless. You guys are the pros though. I would not suggest doing it in a tight room. I've seen your other vids, I know u guys are pros, so if that's how it's done then great. I would personally pin it's head. But then again, I wouldn't have the balls to mess with a cobra

[skruvmutterdragare]

If thats a King around 30years, its small to fit the age!

Maybe the stress of the venom extaction,?

Have had 6-7 yo bigger than that!!

[kyreptilezoo]

@skruvmutterdragare This video is over 10years old. This animal is still alive and feeds on prekilled rats and has been the parent of many babies. Breeding would have more effect on the size then stress from extraction. How often have you produced from your kings? Check out the king breeding ,laying and hatching videos.

[skruvmutterdragare]

Just touching the head??? He is pressing and massaging the gland and they may be injury in the long run to the glands

[kyreptilezoo]

@skruvmutterdragare This snake is the mother of many of our king babies(See video on king babies hatching at KRZ) and was on the venom line for 25 years. There is no damage to the venom glands by massaging them. Your venom production background is from where?

[hydrakson]

get a tazer zap it and steal the poison... XD

[kyreptilezoo]

@hydrakson lol I don't think the snakes would last too long if we were tazing them. We always try to be as humane as possible.

[hydrakson]

@kyreptilezoo LOL XD just an idea... hehehehe

[kyreptilezoo]

@Keithattal1 The girl in this video no longer works here- she is in Omaha now.

Bites have occurred rarely at the zoo, and we do keep antivenom for all the species that we keep.

[mopaintball1]

if you put your thumb over the venom station, this vid looks really messed up. all jokes aside, i wouldn't mess with that thing.

[blindesthobo]

there has gotta be an easier way to do that

[wardenphil]

What if the snake tried to get away? I don't see anything that would prevent escape.

[kyreptilezoo]

@wardenphil Jim would not allow the animal to escape. He has been doing this for 34 years.

[dhoners68]

nice one! :))

[TehAnarchistCookbook]

That looks like a risky job O.O

[afnedlrleewr]

damn your not a good snake handler your sloppy and slow i can handle snakes better than you and im only 14.

[kyreptilezoo]

@afnedlrleewr At least I know the difference between your and you're.

[afnedlrleewr]

@kyreptilezoo you think i need to have proper punctuation on youtube comments?

and is that rely all you got to come back at me

i mean hes tossing the trash can around and skitting around when the snake strikes it takes him like 2 seconds for him to react

sorry for the grammar i guess

[kyreptilezoo]

@afnedlrleewr Ok you want a comeback. Jim Harrison has been extracting venom and breeding King Cobras for over 34 years. Jim averages about 600 to 1000 venom extractions a week and is often featured on PBS,Animal Planet , and National Geographic TV. He has published many peer reviewed papers. You can google his name and Kentucky Reptile Zoo. Now your 14 years of experience with king cobras and snakes can be found in what publications?

[afnedlrleewr]

@kyreptilezoo Lol i was just playing around i didnt think youd escalate that quickly hes a great handler and i have nothing on him why would i trash talk to someone i dont know seriously?

sorry about that but that little trade was fun

[Shivasavasana]

@afnedlrleewr Huh? You obviously know nothing of venomous snakes, because if you did, you would see that this fellow is EXTREMELY skilled. That kind of false confidence is gonna get you hurt someday kid.....just sayin'

[cowboy9mmca]

I had the privilege of getting to see the King Cobra up close at the Bangkok Envenomation centre back in 2008. I had never been so intimidated in my life! It was an amazing experience to be so close to something so powerful!

[Scottyl35]

That guy rocks!!

[thedonmo]

Have you ever milked a Black mamba or Green Mamba? Can a King Cobra cross breed with a Mamba? Which is more dangerous to milk a mamba or a King Cobra?

Please be careful

[kyreptilezoo]

Yes.We have have video of mamba extractions on our channel. We actually have all four species of mamba's. They can not cross breed. Mamba is harder to extract from.Thanks I will be careful.

[fray1234jkl84032]

you are so stupid you could get bitten so easly

[kyreptilezoo]

This venom is for cancer research and the man doing it has been extracting venom from King cobras for over 34 years. Now please keep comments to facts and not name calling.

[zeruttin31]

so stupid and dangerous for chidren to wach they do not even extract any venom I work in a lab I know that is a circus

[kyreptilezoo]

@zeruttin31 First off just because your friend did not like that she was corrected when she miss ID a snake in a video does not make use a circus. If you work in a Lab with venom then you know we collect venom for research and have been doing so for over 30 years. We ship venom all over the world and have been featured on NGO TV , AP and PBS.

[mrwinorlose]

poor snake

[kyreptilezoo]

See our reply below.

[bulbo21]

@mrwinorlose why poor snake they use the poison to make antidotes xD

[diliprai]

leave that snake alone.

[kyreptilezoo]

The venom is used for cancer research . And the snake is not hurt in fact this video is 10 years old and the snake is still on the venom production line. And has reproduced.

[crazymodigga]

Wow, Well done!

[hyperhunk90]

your helper is HOT!

[kyreptilezoo]

Yes to medical care. Counts on how bad the bite is. Usually back to work in 24 hours.

[WHATKIDS123456]

aww poor snake.

thanks for the venom

[buttersownsuall]

holy crap. He has some guts. Thnx for making anti-venom

[littlebrittle18]

dude, great handling right there, and for a great purpose. keep up the good work :)

[joshuajeamosiana07]

the handler  moves are very prof.

[likitty20]

that guy as good timeing with the snake

[astralentity]

very brave. I would hate doing that with any cobra or vicious snake.

[tanner2405]

yes, jim harrison is the man

[424532]

cam is far away

[kyreptilezoo]

Yes, so the camera operator and also the person handling the snake are not in danger.

[jp200157]

thats what you call a professional and one huge King Cobra awesome video

[bboygrim043094]

tobad mine is venomoid =)

[angelcoiler]

"the most venomous snake in the world is the one that just bit ya"

[johnny66o1]

thats a quote from viper keeper lol

[magicalangel0]

very informative. Thanks for uploading this!

[MattCoop13]

Doesn't really matter which is the deadliest. They're all extremely dangerous. Who would u rather fight with? Ricky hatton? Floyd Mayweather? Lennox lewis? NONE OF 'EM! haha

[robokilla12]

wow that guy is extremely brave....

[sniperbrook]

too many people comment on who is the most venomous snake. it too hard to call. yeah the russel's viper is the most dangerous due to people killed, the inland taipan, the tiger and brown snake are apparantly the worst in toxicity, black mamba is most aggresive. king cobra cos of amount of venom. THEY ALL KICK ASS. very cool reptiles, i wish i cud keep one as deadly as them. I found a russel's viper in helmand province when i was there in 2008 great colouration.

[kyreptilezoo]

Actually, king cobras do not spit. There are other cobra species that do- we have some videos of those up on our channel as well.

[kyreptilezoo]

Actually, the saw scaled viper, the russell's viper, and the Indian cobra are the most dangerous snakes in the world in terms of human deaths. Mambas and king cobras, while dangerous, don't bite many people because they are not encountered as often as these other species.

[jiggerninja]

king cobras are the deadly snake in the world, it's true they don't bite as much, but it's not about the bte with them, it's the amount of venom they put in to you. Nice vd btw

[mikgazine]

I gest its the most dangerous snake in the world...just after the Blackmamba

[youpube1011]

NOT the most venomous though. The most venomous in the world is The Fierce Snake.

[edgirallenjoe29]

otherwise known as the Inland Taipan

[cutegayjason]

I think this is AWESOME!

[mow6]

Nice king. Not a very big one tho. From india perhaps. just my guess from it's appearance. those from malaysia and thailand differs a whole lot. i've got a few in my possesion. Good video.

[kyreptilezoo]

Indonesia bloodline. Born here 3 years old when video was done. We have Malaysia and Thailand bloodlines. Appears that there maybe at least 6 species and maybe 9 species of Kings. DNA work is being done as we speak. Also there is enough difference in venoms that the Thai Redcross may not work well on animals not from Thailand.

[AvitoholIYI]

How many people are working at ur zoo?

[kyreptilezoo]

Currently 4, 2 fulltime and 2 part time.

[kyreptilezoo]

Jim has been extracting for 30 plus years. thanks for your comment.

[pjfan201]

Next time ask them to zoom in a little on the extraction...still great work and a great video.

[critterfreek82]

Wow! What a magnificent animal. Still, you all have serious brass ones to work with her. I wouldn't get within ten feet of that snake, cool as she is.

[fishnkid1923]

i would never do that

[EMG4Life]

dude you all are crazy.

[kyreptilezoo]

Keeps the handler and snake safer. Snake does not injury itself if you control the body.

[xXiiTrYXx]

how many times a wweek do u milk your snakes

[kyreptilezoo]

We extract from them every two to three weeks.

[kyreptilezoo]

We are approved to provide venom to Researchers.The funnel and vial are sterile but the snakes mouth is not. The venom is filtered to remove anything that may not be sterile. Also it is hard to work a king in a lab. Check out our website for more information on how the venom is processed.

[swimzmako]

i've never seen any better working with snake then you guys

[JohnnyGoo]

Wow!! You picked it up like nobody's business, haha! Amazing to watch on youtube, let alone being there to see it!

[dougtube2006]

With all those species, do you work with snakes for which you don't have antivenim?

[kyreptilezoo]

Only when we are trying to develop a new or better one. Most species have a antivenom that works for that species or crosses well for it.

[BlueTongueDan]

Very good video!

[kyreptilezoo]

Thanks.

[blazincross7689]

does it hurt the snake by squeezing its mouth like that?

[kyreptilezoo]

No, Jim doesn't hurt them. They are grasped only hard enough to restrain them. Most kings actually bite the funnel and won't let go until they are ready. It is possible to hurt the snake by being too rough, however Jim is very careful. I've worked here 9 years and never seen one hurt here.

[kyreptilezoo]

About 9 ft. We have 10 kings it is the in the middle for size.

[jojyusa]

life n death situation