(gentle music) - i'm coyote peterson. what i have in my hand right here is a forest scorpion. down here in this pocket of water, a bunch of california newts.
how to get rid of black snakes in yard, hold on, let me see if i can catch one real quick. (plops) here we go. fantastic.
all right, now that i haveboth of these little creatures, let's talk about the differences between venom and poison. (upbeat jungle music) (animal growls) (gentle music) welcome back, coyote pack. thanks for joining me out here on location in northern california.
now a lot of you have written in with the question, "coyote, what is the differencebetween venom and poison?" and that's a really great question. now the first major difference is in the delivery method. when it comes to venom,it has to be injected. when we're talking about poison, it has to be absorbed. now the way that you canbe injected with venom is either through a stinger,
a set of fangs, or a barb. now when we're talking about poison, it has to actually beabsorbed into the body. this can happen in a variety of ways. it can either be ingested, like through your mouth, inhaled, like into your lungs, or absorbed withapplication to the skin, like poison ivy, for example.
so what i'm holding hereis a forest scorpion. this is a perfect example of a venomous animal. and in this hand, ihave a california newt, which is a great exampleof a poisonous animal. now the second difference between venom and poison is how it's used and what it's used for. now venom, for example,is usually used by predators to kill their prey. whereas poison is used by prey to help deter predators.
first let's talk about the forest scorpion. this is a great exampleof a venomous animal. now the way that the scorpion catches and kills its prey is through avenom-injecting stinger. what they do is grab onto their prey with these front pedipalps, and then whap! they sting the prey, venom is injected,
eventually it dies, and then they have their meal. it's usually used by plants and animals to help deter predators. for example, this california newt, you see that real bright coloration on his underside? this bright coloration warns predators that if you eat me, i'mpacked full of poison. and there's a good chance
that i'm the last mealyou're ever gonna have. and of course, these are generalities, and there are going to be exceptions that break these general guidelines. for example, there's a frog that lives in brazil that has a venomous spine. this frog is now usingvenom instead of poison to deter predation. that was a great question,
and one we've been wanting to answer for awhile. so hopefully now you know alittle bit about the differences i'm coyote peterson. be brave. stay wild. we'll see you on the next adventure. (animal sounds) i'm coyote peterson, and i'm about to free-handle the most lethal
scorpion species in the united states. all right, you ready?
one, two, three. whew, that definitelygets your nerves going.
