The Shushupe

Israel-Cuba Torres, who works with me on the fertilisation experiment, was working in Tono in January 2008 in the middle of the rain in the swampiest part of our plots.  He was hacking his way through the jungle with his machete when he cracked through the middle of a fallen bamboo only to discover The Shushupe directly behind it, and not too happy.  The Shushupe went into full attack mode--straightening up, flaring out, and hissing/rattling.  Israel froze to watch his life flash before his eyes before carefully retreating.  He grabbed his camera and, insane as he is, returned to snap a photo in the pouring rain.  The flash startled The Shushupe and both it and Israel ran off in opposite directions, never to see each other again...

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachesis_(genus)):

The Shushupe, also called The Bushmaster, is of the genus Lachesis of venomous pitvipers found in the remote, forested areas of Central and South America. Lachesis refers to one of the Three Fates in Greek mythology—Lachesis determined the length of the thread of life.

Adults vary in length from 2 to 2.5 m (6.5 to 8.25 ft), and some may grow to as much as 3 m (10 ft). The largest known was 3.65 m (12 ft), making it the longest venomous snake in the Western Hemisphere. It is one of the largest and most dangerous snakes in South America, capable of multiple bite strikes and injecting large amounts of venom—even the bite of a juvenile can be fatal.