Guyana - Labaria - Pit viper...

Tavarua in the Jungles of Guyana

(All Photos by Tavarua)

The other night around 1:30 am walking through the jungles in Guyana to hunt for deer we came along a Labaria (seems like every night we are out this happen). Labaria is common in Suriname and Guyana as well as other South American countries although named different.  A pit viper, colors will differ - it can be olive, brown, gray, tan, rusty and yellow.  One of the most common pit vipers and not like many other species endangered.

Labaria - Pit viper - dead after our tracker killed it.

The diet consists of frogs, lizards, small mammals and birds. They are very quick agitated.  The venom is hemotoxin which affects the circulatory  nervous system -  a toxic protein.  The venom is very lethal and fast acting. It will paralyse you including nausea and blackouts. in addition, loss of short term memory.