Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 564 - 561 Poisoning

A rather novel combination came from Bi Fang’s mouth.

Poisoning a black bear?

[What the hell is this about poisoning?]

[Can we no longer hide the fact that Boss Fang is an alien?]

[To be honest, compared to being an alien, I’m more convinced that Old Fang underwent some surgery to implant poison glands (jokingly)]

[I know, got bitten by a spider and turned into a four hundred-pound lady!]

[I don’t want to ask anything else, I just want to know one thing, where does this poison come from, I’m quite curious (dog’s head)]

"How could I possibly produce poison? Of course, I’m using what’s available." Bi Fang was briefly taken aback by the barrage of comments, but this improved Yuyu’s mood significantly.

Silly netizens always bring joy.

Survival in the wilderness with an audience is a completely different ballgame compared to without.

At the very least, one doesn’t feel lonely when alone in the forest, and it can even bring a little happiness.

Once Wilderness Survival Skill reaches a certain level, what one is often combating is not so much survival issues as it is oneself.

Heading deeper into the forest, Bi Fang continued, "In nature, to survive, various animals have evolved different survival strategies, whether for hunting or for self-defense, especially venomous snakes. With their venom, they can often punch above their weight."

In nature, body size is almost akin to a hierarchical relationship, but venom can overturn this rule, enabling animals to surpass their superiors.

"However, the most fearful things for humans are probably those poisonous species, because most venoms are not only excruciatingly painful, but our understanding of them is also very limited, which brings a sense of unknown fear."

All the behaviors of animals and plants on Earth can be attributed to: survival and reproduction.

The reason why flora and fauna evolve toxins is actually to better survive and reproduce.

"According to the second law of thermodynamics, in an isolated system, the system tends to go from order to disorder, which is the process of entropy increase. For example: an apple falls to the ground and will gradually rot."

"If organisms want to survive, they first need to combat entropy increase, and ingestion of energy can maintain their original low entropy state, like: eating."

"All creatures on Earth must rely on energy to survive, but different organisms have different methods of utilizing energy. Plants use solar energy, herbivores consume plants, and carnivores consume the meat of herbivores."

Energy flows along the chain of solar energy-plants-herbivores-carnivores, and it is precisely because of this that Earth has such a complex food web.

But in practice, every creature is reluctant to give up the energy it has worked so hard to acquire.

"For plants, because of the limitations of the cell wall which impedes their movement, and since plants can’t retaliate against attackers, they can only evolve things like thorns and toxins to evade herbivorous animals’ attacks."

"Herbivorous animals have various ways to avoid attacks from carnivores. They can evolve to run faster, have sharper monocular vision, or have thicker skin to escape predators, but some herbivores also develop toxicity to defend against their natural enemies."

"There are also animals that evolve toxicity for hunting purposes, like venomous snakes. When they hunt, they first spray venom on their prey, wait for it to succumb to the poison, and then come to eat it."

It is precisely because plants and animals need better ways to avoid predators and improve their hunting that there are so many poisonous species in nature.

If we think of predators and prey as hunters and their quarry, then there is always an arms race between hunter and hunted.

Both sides are constantly adapting to each other.

At this point, Bi Fang’s meaning was quite clear.

[Are we looking for a plant or an animal?]

[Isn’t it hard to find poisonous plants here? Are there Blood-Sealing Throat Trees here too?]

"Japan has many poisonous plants, but when it comes to hunting, plant toxins are often not as useful as biological toxins, like the Sago Palm," explained Bi Fang.

The Sago Palm is a highly toxic plant commonly found in the southern part of Japan; it’s actually not rare and is what many people have seen as the "iron tree."

What many people don’t know is that this plant contains deadly poison. It is one of the oldest seed plants still existing on Earth, known as a "living fossil" plant.

Its origins can be traced back to about 300 million years ago, and it reached its zenith during the Jurassic period, when it dominated the planet alongside the dinosaurs.

"Cattle that eat the seeds of the Sago Palm can be paralyzed, as it contains neurotoxins. Consuming too much can even lead to death, but it’s not enough to deal with a black bear."

Using toxins is mostly done by application followed by an attack to enter the opponent’s bloodstream.

The key feature is that the toxicity needs to be strong and fast-acting and able to cause maximum damage with the smallest quantity.

Talking about toxins without mentioning dosage is irresponsible; a few wounds infected with Sago Palm toxin are basically useless, and the effect is too slow. By the time it takes effect, the bear would have finished its last burp.

"As with the Blood-Sealing Throat Tree, there are only a few, but most toxic animals can instantly kill prey of the same size. The useful plants that can be found here in Japan are probably only castor beans and water hemlock. The former is somewhat lacking, while the latter, being considered the most toxic plant in North America, can serve as a backup option."

The toxin of water hemlock is very strong; the entire plant contains hemlock toxin, which can disrupt the central nervous system, causing those who mistakenly ingest it to have epileptic seizures and ultimately die.

And since coniine works similarly to arrow poison, it can paralyze motor nerves and inhibit the medulla oblongata. It has a rapid effect and has been listed by Bi Fang as an alternative.

However, what he wanted to find more was snakes.

Plant toxins are for defense, to deter herbivores, but snake venom is for offense, evolving in the direction of Bi Fang’s needs.

After all, both involve hunting, with exactly the same requirements.

"Japan’s humid climate provides habitats for as many as 47 species of snakes, but only eight of them live on the four islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, with just two being venomous snakes."

"One is the Mamushi, and the other, the Tiger Keelback. Considering the size of the black bear, we don’t need a toxin that can kill it outright. As long as it has a significant paralytic effect, it’s effective. The one I want to find most is the Tiger Keelback," he said.

The venom yield of Tiger Keelback is low, averaging 11.8mg, with components such as metalloproteinase and coagulases. But its intravenous toxicity is very high, with an LD50 of 0.265mg/kg, exceeding the venom of most vipers.

Vipers, with just their names, most people would associate them with deadly poison, which shows the potency of the Tiger Keelback’s venom.

However, because the Tiger Keelback has posterior fangs and it has been the subject of much debate whether it’s a venomous snake.

Because its fangs and venom glands are not connected by ducts, making venom injection difficult, and its venom delivery system can be quite wasteful. Coupled with its docile nature, most people who are bitten suffer only mild symptoms, which was quite an oddity.

Before 2008, it wasn’t even considered a venomous snake in Huaxia.

But even so, there have been several cases of death by Tiger Keelback bites in Japan.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

"But no matter, I’m manually extracting it, there won’t be any waste. Moreover, during yesterday’s earthquake, many venomous snakes actually came down from the mountain. I saw one that looked very much like a Tiger Keelback, but at that time I discovered jade and didn’t have time to catch it," he said.

Reptiles are very sensitive to earthquakes, and at least a dozen snakes shot past Bi Fang’s line of sight at that time, but they were too concerned with escaping to pose any threat.

"Now let’s go over there and see if we can find it. It mainly preys on small vertebrates, such as frogs and toads, and likes to dwell in areas with lush aquatic vegetation, the same kind of place as water hemlock. We’re actually looking for two things," he said.

Following the direction he remembered, Bi Fang quickly found a stream in a valley and began to search along its banks.

While he hadn’t found the Tiger Keelback yet, he did discover two Banded Kraits intertwined together, a non-venomous species.

Without wasting them, Bi Fang captured the loving couple to prepare for lunch, and continued his search.

Eventually, Bi Fang located the target amid a small clump of aquatic vegetation.