Weird Animal Question of the Week: What's the Most Toxic Snake?
Technically, it's the inland taipan—but other snakes are more dangerous.
Snakes are sneaky-even questions about them can wiggle right out of your grasp.
When Arocha Musa of Kampala, Uganda, wrote in asking, "What makes the cobra the most dangerous snake?" we quickly realized two things: Cobras aren't considered the most dangerous snake, and finding out which is poses a challenge. (Learn more about the world's deadliest snakes on Nat Geo WILD.)
"If you're playing Trivial Pursuit, the answer is the inland taipan," quips Kate Jackson, a biologist at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
That's because the inland taipan has both the most toxic venom and injects the most venom when it bites. A native of Australia that's also called the "fierce snake," the inland taipan packs enough