Killing bites

It takes the right amount of venolfrom the snake to kill its p Igo. Larger the prey, more the venomand vice versa. William Hayes of thoUniversity of Wyoming, US, in aseries of laboratory experiment-4demonstrated that rattlesnakesindeed 'meter' the quantity ofvenom they inject into mice ofdifferent sizes. This is especiaII4done better by experienced snakes.Hayes used the enzyme linkimmunoabsorbant assay orELISA technique to measure thlquantity of venom injected byestimating the venom in the body ofthe struck mice (Animal Behaviour,No 50,1995).