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That's Just Wild

Venomous: Bullet Ant Rituals, Box Jellyfish, and Wandering Spiders

Ep. 3

What is venom? How does it work? And how do different species use it?


Wildlife legends Steve Backshall, Lizzie Daly and Sarah Roberts are back with a bite this week, in a truly venomous episode of That's Just Wild. As well as some awe inspiring stories of poisonous creatures we get geeky with the science, and dive into the development of a universal *anti-venom.


*Trigger Warning - this episode contains content that some listeners may find distressing. Animal testing is referred to as part of a discussion of the process of anti-venom development.


Plus: Steve relives getting stung thousands of times by bullet ants... on purpose. (There's a theme developing here.) Lizzie shares her own narrow escape. (There could have been a serious sting in this tale). And Sarah questions what you should really do if a jellyfish stings you. (Spoiler alert: don't pee on your friends!)


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