CONTENTS The Venomous Viper Spy the Viper Life as a Viper Around the World Deadly Senses A Toxic Bite What's for Dinner On the Hunt Caring for the Viper Glossary Index 4 7 8 11 12 15 16 19 20 22 23 Words in the glossary appear in bold type the first time they are used in the text 3
FATAL FACTS THE VENOMOUS VIPER In a forest a long and heavy snake waits calmly for its next meal This snake's leaf shaped head blends in with the forest floor A rat runs in front of the snake unaware of the nearby danger Snap The snake strikes sinking its pointed teeth into the rat injecting toxic venom into the small animal Meet the viper a deadly predator that lives across the world Known for their long sharp teeth vipers are a deadly type of snake Vipers are members of the snake family Viperidae This big wide ranging family is made up of more than 200 species or kinds of different snakes 4
Vipers are sometimes separated into two smaller groups pit vipers and Old World vipers Pit vipers have a heat sensing organ or body part while most Old World vipers do not 5
