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Poisonous snakes are not much of a threat around Maryland. In theory the Cottonmouth extends to this area but I've never seen one. Oddly enough, we've had a run of Copperhead sightings - including by me - in the forested area not that far from my house. They are not an aggressive snake and it would be bad luck if you stumbled on one in a place where it had no choice but to bite you.
Now, the bad boys below you want to avoid. Took this photo in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in the old Northwest Frontier Province of what was once India, in 2001, of a roadside attraction. My guide told me the secret is that as long as the snake is curled in the basket, it can't strike very far.
Fair enough, but somehow about 9,000 people in Pakistan are killed by snakes every year. Of course, that's a fraction of India's toll. Wrap your mind around this: Between the year 2000 and 2019, an estimated 1.2 MILLION people in India died of snakebite - an average of about 58,000 a year. Mind blowing.