On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:30:53 +0100, mike wilson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >> >> From: "John Forbes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Date: 2006/09/05 Tue AM 09:50:42 GMT >> To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: OT: The Croc Hunter is no more >> >> On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:50:13 +0100, mike wilson >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> wrote: >> >> > John Forbes wrote: >> > >> >> King Cobras are not much smaller, but I'd rather be bitten by a >> python. >> > >> > King Cobras are much, _much_ smaller than the largest constrictors. >> >> From Wikipedia: >> >> K Cobras 18.5 ft (it doesn't mention a record, but I have seen mention >> of 24 ft.) >> Pythons 20 ft (the record is 32 ft. I don't suppose the person who >> met the biggest cobra lived to tell the tale!) >> >> I don't know what the average size of a King Cobra is, but in East >> Africa >> (home of many pythons) you seldom see a python longer than 15 ft. So >> "much, much, smaller" is not, in my view, correct. > > Well, Cobras are a fair bit shorter and the largest constrictors (I'm > not getting into the Python/Anaconda argument) are considerably greater > in girth, so in my view it is. 8-) I wasn't aware of any geographical > restrictions on the discussion..... > >> >> >> >> And as for Black Mambas... give me a croc any day. >> > >> > You might have a better chance of running from a croc but, if either >> of >> > them got to you, the Mamba might be a quicker way to go. Neither >> would >> > be painless. >> >> Black Mambas are big, very poisonous, fast, and, crucially, extremely >> aggressive. George Ionnides, the greatest snake collector of all, >> feared >> no other snake but gave Black Mambas a very wide berth. His book, if >> you >> come across it, is an excelent read. >> >> You can meet them anywhere, and if you are close they will usually >> attack. With crocs, you know where they will be, and if you have any >> sense you will be on land, in which case it is quite likely that they >> will >> be basking in the sun like a coster, and give you no trouble. >> >> Black Mambas are thought to kill more people in coastal East Africa than >> all other wild-life combined. >> >> And incidentally, I wouldn't choose to be bitten by a python. I was >> simply voicing a preference if the alternative were a King Cobra. >> >> John > > I thought we were comparing crocs and mambas? My point is that, if > either of them actually gets to you, the mamba would probably be the > quicker way to go. Not exclusively and neither pleasantly. We were (talking about crocs and mambas). For cobra, read mamba. For Forbes, read fool. > > Enough morbidity! Let's talk about photography. Does Pentax make a > lens long enough to shoot mambas in the wild? I think the 600/4 would > be more of a burden than an asset. My favourite photographic accessory for shooting aggressive and lethal wild animals is a helicopter. John > > ----------------------------------------- > Email sent from www.ntlworld.com > Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software > Visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information > > -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
