Washburn snake expert shares knowledge on television

By Jana Corrie

VIDEO:

Did you know Washburn has a snake room? And an expert on venomous snakes?

"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.

Currently in Topeka, KS

KTKA

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