Is the banded krait highly venomous, and what protection level does it belong to?
The banded krait is distributed in China's Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Yunnan regions, and like other snakes of the genus Bungarus, it moves slowly, is not inclined to attack humans, and mainly feeds on small vertebrates. So is the banded krait highly venomous? Compared with the many-banded krait, which one is more venomous? What protection level does it belong to?
1. Is the banded krait highly venomous? Compared with the many-banded krait, which one is more venomous?
The banded krait is a highly venomous snake with front grooved fangs, and together with the cobra and the Oriental ratsnake it is known as one of the “three snakes”, and it is a famous edible snake species. The banded krait's body color consists of thick golden and black stripes, and its appearance resembles the yellow-ringed cat snake (a primitive venomous snake with fangs located at the rear). The banded krait has a raised vertebra on its back, so its body cross-section looks very much like a triangle.
The banded krait and the many-banded krait share the same characteristic, one with yellow rings and the other with white rings. At the same time, both of these venomous snakes carry neurotoxins, and after being bitten they paralyze the nerves and cause death by respiratory paralysis, making them especially dangerous venomous snakes.
Provoke the gold but not the silver; provoke the silver and it kills you. This saying illustrates which of the banded krait and the many-banded krait has the greater toxicity. Both snakes are highly venomous, but the many-banded krait is far more formidable than the banded krait, and is one of the most venomous snakes in mainland China; generally, if an bitten person cannot receive antivenom serum treatment within half an hour, their life is in danger. Compared with the many-banded krait, the banded krait is somewhat less venomous, and as the saying goes, after being bitten by a banded krait, it does not matter much if you play a few rounds of poker before seeking treatment.
These two snakes are easy to distinguish, both having black-and-white or black-and-yellow alternating patterns; the banded krait is black-and-yellow alternating, and the many-banded krait is black-and-white alternating. The banded krait's tail is relatively blunter than the many-banded krait's. They fear light and generally come out to move about only at night, but the banded krait is somewhat more active than the many-banded krait and sometimes comes out during the day as well. When exposed to sunlight, they tuck their heads beneath their bodies. At night, if you are bitten by a snake, with a shallow bite mark but a lot of pain, it is possible that you were bitten by one of these two snakes, and you should seek medical treatment nearby as soon as possible. Although venomous snakes are very venomous, they generally have their own activity areas, and as long as people do not disturb or provoke them, they generally will not harm humans.
2. What protection level does the banded krait belong to?
The banded krait is already extremely scarce in the wild. Because it is one of the famous edible snakes, and its body soaked in liquor and its snake gallbladder are also used as medicine, it has long been massively hunted for domestic sale or export, causing the species population of the banded krait to decline by 50% between 1997 and 2007. At present, this species has been included in the “List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State as Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Research Value” issued by China's State Forestry Administration on August 1, 2000. Note that illegally hunting and killing wild animals protected by the state will be subject to criminal law sanctions.