Saw Scaled Viper

I talked to Josh yesterday and he shared with me one of the most bizarre stories that I have heard in a while. One of his buddies was taking a shower in the compound and suddenly he felt something fall on his head. His initial thought was that his friends were throwing something on him and playing a joke so he yelled back at them. Well, when the "thing" that fell on his head landed on the ground, he looked down only to discover that it was a Saw Scaled Viper. Apparently this is one of the deadliest snakes in the world. I have heard that this snake runs a close second in the leading cause of deaths in Afghanistan...other than terrorism of course. Scary!

Apparently Saw Scale Vipers rub their scales against each other to make a hissing noise. Josh's buddy said that it "hissed" at him. He went running of course and they got a bucket, caught him, and killed the sucker! I don't think I would have been able to function after that!

Crazy. Just crazy. Can you imagine?

Also, I saw this article when I was looking for pictures of the viper if anyone is bored and wants some reading material. :-) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/11/tech/main6471742.shtml