Working hazards in Venezuela, besides chavista government agencies

Working in Yaracuy is not without risks.  Although now the crime rate per capita has nothing to envy from other areas of the country, it is also the coastal area state reputed to having the largest variety of snakes (the abundant rain in the Sierra de Aroa and Sorte, I have been told).  Here at work, near some fallow land, we routinely kill mapanares and assorted cuaimas.  But today it was a first, in a storage room not even 100 feet from my desk we killed this coral snake, about 40 cm long.  Now, from Wikipedia I cannot tell for sure if it is a dangerous type of Coral, the most lethal species in Venezuela.  But when you go to a storage area and start moving stuff around and see yourself in front of that the reflex is "kill" even though that unfortunate snake might be good for you as your local predator of vermin (it specializes among other things in snake and lizard eggs).


I had given the order to try to avoid killing snakes whenever possible besides the mapanares easily recognizable by the local and more dangerous in fact than a coral who would have great difficulty in biting you due to its small size.  The mapanare can get you through your pants if necessary and can be as big as 6 feet whereas the coral would need to bite you on your ear lobe or the skin flap between your fingers, your nostril or something thin like that.

Still, the idea that coral snake could be crawling next to my desk....  Though I should not be surprised: two weeks ago at home I had to push outside with my broom a small tarantula.  It was small maybe but already big enough to make a mess if I had tried to squish it roach like.  Not to mention that by the time my sandal had landed on its spot she could have jumped away and land on my feet, for example...  Rats are less of a problem: my terrier has taken good care of three of them this year.