 Keith Budden shortly before his encounter with a coastal taipan in 1950 |
Antivenin--drop for drop, some of the most valuable and costly substance in the world. Perhaps creatures such as venomous snakes aren't a part of the every day world and so the likelihood of suffering a strike with potentially fatal consequences dwindles down to a freak article in the newspaper. Venom researchers don't share this kind of nonchalance. The injection of venom into the human body is a serious medical emergency, and in the case of a venomous snakebite, antivenin is the treatment.
Venom is perhaps the most crucial component of antivenin, as paradoxical as that may seem. Be spared the complex biochemical matrix of snake venom which would make a Web site in itself. As is no doubt obvious, venom does not come from plants or necrotic biomatter. Attempts to create a synthesized venom have not as yet resulted in a product strong enough for use in antivenin. No, there is only one place where venom can be gathered--straight from the fangs of the snake itself.
 A highly trained snake handler milks a taipan of its venom The process of extracting venom from a snake is commonly called milking. Don't worry about the snake. These precious reptiles are well cared for in serpentariums and laboratories around the world, and the milking process is not at all damaging. Venomous snakes can produce a virtually infinite amount of venom in their lifetimes through special glands (which are not unlike salivary glands). Thus the milking process does not rob the snake of its venom supply. |
A Papuan taipan, known for its
beauty--its scales have been compared
to precious opals
At 10:30 on the morning of July 28, 1950, Keith Budden, 20 years old, was searching the wilderness in search of a taipan. He knew the great interest that antivenin researchers and scientists in general had in studying the venom of this great snake. Moreover, Budden focused on the need for an antivenin to save his fellow Australians from further casualties. Keith Budden was certainly no coward, nor was he crazy. He was devoted to the study of snakes and was as qualified as anyone to undertake this task.
While poking around outside a garbage dump on the outskirts of Cairns, Budden found himself stepping on a six-foot long taipan. Terrified, the taipan reared up and struck Budden's thick boot. Budden managed to seize the snake behind the head--a proper method for human and snake. Holding tightly to his precious catch, Budden managed to hail down a passing truck. He asked the driver to take him and the taipan to a snake expert of his aquaintance, who would be able to identify the snake with complete certainty. Budden held on to the taipan for the entire two-hour journey.
The snake expert confirmed that the snake was indeed the first captive taipan and hurried to get a sack where the taipan would be placed for the safety and comfort of the men and the taipan. Lowering the snake into the sac, Budden eased his iron grip for a plit second--and struck his left hand twice. Budden refused to let the fact that he had been bitten by death itself keep him from the important business of getting his catch to the appropriate researchers.
Concerned first for the welfare of his precious taipan to the very end, Keith Budden passed away as a result of the bites he received. Budden's taipan, however, went on to be milked. Its venom was studied and the foundations of an antivenin were established. Through his own sacrifice, Keith Budden brought about the treatment and the recovery of many others bitten by the taipan. Budden is an excellent example of a true hero--a man driven by an almost blinding passion to do well for his fellow man. Nearly fifty years later, Keith Budden is not forgotten.
