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Vietnam. Barefoot and bare-handed, 59-year-old Huang Van Tan searches for snakes—preferably cobras—in a rice field near his village. He uses a long pole to wrangle a snake into a bag tucked into the back of his pants.

He keeps a few snakes for his family to eat and sells the rest to a local restaurant or an exporter. A cobra can bring a hundred dollars—a lot in rural Vietnam.

Cameroon. The venom of the Jameson's mamba is lethal, but unlike some other venomous snakes that have specialized in just one kind of venom, the Jameson's mamba uses a cocktail of particularly nasty surprises. The Jameson's mamba blend is a toxic combination of hemotoxins, cardiotoxins, fasciculins as well as myotoxic substances. It is the lethal characteristics of snake venom that ironically makes it so valuable. Scientists study the genetic and molecular set-up by collecting venom and DNA samples. This has led to the development of medicine against heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's and this will not affect the wild populations since all snakes are released after sampling!

The tree living Jameson's Mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni) in Mbanjong, Cameroon. Venom from snakes like the Jameson’s mamba may soon combat heart disease.

Forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) in Mbanjong, Cameroon. The forest cobra lives on the rainforest floor. It's venom, in humans, causes neurotoxic and tissue damaging effects. There is however anti-venom for it.

Deadly coiled-up beauty! The Boomslang is one of the most incredible snakes of Africa. It's diurnal and almost exclusively arboreal which makes it a challenge to photograph.

The evening drink special at a Le Mat restaurant in Vietnam is king cobra in rice wine. Venomous reptiles are cooked to order to satisfy discriminating diners. Cobra dishes are expensive, so most patrons order less costly meals, perhaps with a shot of cobra wine on the side.

Bitten by a venomous krait as he slept in his home in rural Vietnam, Can Van Thanh, 20, lies paralyzed in Hanoi’s Bach Mai hospital.

He did not feel the bite but the morning after he started to lose feeling in his arms and legs and later started to lose his ability to speak. Now he is totally paralyzed, but a CT scan shows no brain damage and that he is conscious of his surroundings.

Bamessing, Cameroon. Far away from light pollution.

An African Tree viper (Atheris sp.) As pretty as they come, this nocturnal arboreal viper feeds on frogs, lizards, birds etc. The fact that it's a viper means that it has a long mobile fang that can swing forward when the snake strikes.

Deadly encounter... Not really... People frequently explain to me that I have a dangerous job. Working close to elephants, tigers, polar bears, leopards, lions, sharks, illegal logging operations and venomous snakes such as this beauty. In my line of work doing serious research and reading nature well is key! It'll get my closer to my subjects and it has so far kept me alive! During a National Geographic assignment in the republic of Congo I managed, with kind assistance from Samuel, (my camera assistant at the time) and Zoltan (a great herpethologist), to close in on this beautiful banded water cobra!

Water cobra (Boulengerina).

The element of surprise gives this rhino viper in Cameroon an edge over prey. Quick-kill venom finishes the job. Vipers provide valuable toxins, including those used in drugs for hypertension and heart disease and to control bleeding during surgery.

The beautiful Fiji archipelago consists of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi).

Venom expert Zoltan Takacs grabs a yellow-lipped sea krait in Fijian waters. This snake’s toxic bite causes paralysis, which keeps its strong and speedy eel prey from escaping.

Mattias Klum

Iris Alexandrov

Alexandrov Klum

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