How precious is the head of the Mangshan soldering iron, a unique poisonous snake in China, which can be sold for a high price of 1 million yuan on the black market, and is the first to be bought by foreigners, which can be called the giant panda among snakes.
Located at the junction of Hunan Province and Guangdong Province, Mangshan is warm and humid all year round, and the vegetation is very lush, which is very suitable for snakes, and the locals can often see a variety of snake tracks. The Yao people living in the local area consider themselves to be the descendants of Nuwa, who have inherited the characteristics of Nuwa, and have been worshipping a totem of a white-tailed giant snake for thousands of years, and call this snake "Little Green Dragon". People have always thought that the little green dragon is just a legend, but they didn't expect an accident to let the world see the true face of the little green dragon. People found a kind of pit viper covered in green with olive patterns on its body in Mangshan.
In 1984, Chen Yuanhui, a doctor specializing in snakebites, received a strange patient who was bitten on the arm by a poisonous snake that suddenly came out of his mouth while working. With years of experience, Chen Yuanhui tried various antivenoms and finally saved the patient, and during the treatment, Chen Yuanhui listened to the patient's description and found that it was not any of the venomous snakes that people knew about biting him. Keen to see that this was most likely an undiscovered new species, Chen Yuanhui decided to go up the mountain in search of this venomous snake, driven by curiosity and professionalism. It took him five years to finally find the snake's trail in Mangshan.
How rare is the Mangshan soldering iron head, a nationally protected animal, known as the giant panda among snakes.
In 1989, under Chen Yuanhui's search, the Mangshan soldering iron head finally appeared, this snake is huge, the adult snake can grow to more than two meters long, its head is triangular, the body is covered with green patches of different shades, just like wearing a camouflage uniform, hidden in the grass, without careful observation can not find its figure, the back half of its body is white, so it also has the name of the white-tailed little green dragon. Although the Mangshan soldering iron head belongs to the poisonous snake of the original spearhead pit viper, it has a mild temperament, and will not take the initiative to attack humans unless necessary, and its beautiful appearance and gentle character make many people focus on it, after the Mangshan soldering iron head was discovered, it not only attracted Chinese and foreign snake researchers, but also was coveted by some lawbreakers, who caught the Mangshan soldering iron head in the mountains, and then smuggled it out of the country, and sold it to some reptile lovers who flocked to it.
Some foreign research institutes are also trying to introduce this new species for research. The huge demand made its value soar quickly, an adult Mangshan soldering iron head can be sold for a sky-high price of 1 million yuan on the black market, many poachers do not hesitate to risk their lives to catch snakes, and some people even steal the Mangshan soldering iron head on display from the museum themselves. However, according to the research of snake scientists, there are only about 500 of them left in the wild, which is a rarer wild animal than the giant panda, which is why it was only discovered in 1990.
How precious is the Mangshan soldering iron head, a piece is worth 1 million yuan, and foreign research institutions are trying to buy it.
Mangshan soldering iron head was very rare when it was first discovered, it is only distributed in the mainland endemic species, currently only in Yizhang County, Hunan Province and Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County in Guangdong Province can be found, the distribution range is very narrow, there is no such snake in other areas, and there is no such snake in other countries. After the investigation and research of experts, there are only more than 300-500 in the world, and the rarity is comparable to that of the national treasure giant panda. Habitat destruction and large-scale poaching have put already scarce populations at risk. In 1996, the Mangshan iron head was officially included in the IUCN red list, becoming an endangered species, and the mainland also listed it as a national first-class protected animal, and built the Mangshan Nature Reserve to protect its habitat from destruction.
The preciousness of the Mangshan soldering iron head also lies in its snake venom, the venom in its body is mainly blood circulation toxin, containing a small amount of neurotoxin, half of the venom is less lethal, but the Mangshan soldering iron head will discharge a large amount of toxin after each bite of the prey, so it is also a relatively deadly poisonous snake. Due to the scarcity of the species, it is difficult to obtain snake venom, which means that it is also of high research value. In addition, it also plays an important role in the local ecological environment, and if extinction means the destruction of the environment, it is a huge loss for human beings.