Washburn snake expert shares knowledge on television
Story by Jana Corrie
10:15 p.m. Wednesday, November 21, 2007
"There's a lot of teeth in an anaconda," Professor Bruce Young said.
A biology professor, Young handles venomous snakes everyday.
"This is a white-lipped tree viper."
Young has given a snake CPR.
And there is a picture of him kissing a snake on a shoot for Animal Planet in India.
His specialty is their movement, specifically strikes.
Because of his snake skills, National Geographic flew him and vipers from around the world to Florida.
"So the idea was to build a special cage, get these animals all agitated so they would try to bite me and while they're doing that, film them and do some quick analysis to see which one was actually the fastest," Young said.
I felt brave just touching this anaconda - but harassing one?
"Basically you just loom over them as a large predator, harass them and keep getting close enough to them until they feel threatened," Young said.
Do people think he is nuts?
He said, "I'm sure some people think I'm nuts."
Crazy or not, he got his answer.
"The Puffadder had a strike almost twice as fast as any of the vipers we looked at," said Young.
So how do you explain snake strike speed?
"I was able to show the acceleration the snake can perform will outdo anything like a Porsche or Ferrari or anything else," Young said.
Keep an eye on Topeka's weather with the 49 ABC News Sky Cam.
On the air
See what's on KTKA 49 ABC on our online TV schedule here.
- 7 p.m. - "Wife Swap"
- 8 p.m. - "Super Nanny"
- 9 p.m. - "20/20"
Coming up on 49 News at 10 --
- A special moment in Greensburg, and, 49 News Anchor Marshanna Hester is there. Find out what hub of the city is coming back.
- Join Dave DeCandis and Marshanna for The Locker Room Show. It's Shawnee Heights vs. Topeka High tonight, and the last chance for these teams to tune up their game before district play begins. Tune in at 10 for all the area high school football action.
- How is all the news about the shaky economy and the stock market crash affecting you? Let us know by weighing in on our Web poll.
- Go farther on less. Check out Kansasgasprices.com.
Voices
Latest blog entries
What's Going on in SA?
From Maikutlo Aka - My Views
If you've read the papers lately, you'll see that much is changing with South African politics; the president basically stepped down. You may remember me writing about Jacob Zuma before? For better or worse, and it makes me incredibly nervous, but change is on the horizon for politics in SA...
Interested in writing a blog? Send us a few sample entries! Let us know what you're interested in writing about, the experience you have with your topic, and anything else you think we'll find useful to know.
Latest blog comments:
Want to comment on the news?
Now you can - register for a free account and post comments to stories, blogs, podcasts and more, only on 49abcnews.com. Go »
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)