There are about 600 toxic snakes in the world. Among these, Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is the most poisonous snake in the world. It is capable of killing human beings in less than an hour with venom strong enough to kill 12,000 guinea pigs or 100 grown men.

This snake has excellent eyesight and sense of smell. It relies on the diet of rodents, small mammals and birds. Inland Taipan avoids human contact.

It is a mammal hunter, so it kills especially warm-blooded species. It strikes with extreme accuracy, often hitting many times on the same attack.

It is very fast and agile. Despite being very aggressive, it is quite a shy snake and prefers to escape from a difficult situation. The inland taipan (Oxyuranus Microlepidotus), also commonly known the elephant killer lives in the desert of central east Australia. Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake Dandarabilla. It was first described by Frederick McCoy and William John Macleay in the late 1800’s, but then for the next 90 years, it was a mystery to the scientific community.

It would remain a mystery until its rediscovery in 1972. The venom of the inland taipan is by far the most toxic of any snake. Unlike most snakes, the inland taipan is a specialist hunter of mammals so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species. It is an extremely fast and agile snake that can strike instantly with extreme accuracy, often striking multiple times in the same attack, and it envenomates in almost every case.

Although extremely venomous and a capable striker, in contrast to the rather aggressive coastal taipan, the inland taipan is usually quite a shy and reclusive snake, with a placid disposition, and prefers to escape from trouble. However, it will defend itself and strike if provoked, mishandled, or prevented from escaping. Because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people; therefore it is not considered the deadliest snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year.The word “fierce” from its alternative name describes its venom, not its temperament.

The only danger to this snake is the mulga snake (Pseudechis australis) which is immune to its venom, and is known to eat young inland taipans. The perentie (Varanus giganteus) is a large monitor lizard that also shares the same habitat. As it grows large enough, it will readily tackle large venomous snakes for prey.