Wildlife Host Tests The Bite Of A Giant Centipede In Borneo

He described the bite as a “burning sensation” and was “worse than I imagined”.

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If you’re a wildlife enthusiast, or simply someone who binges YouTube, you might have come across the ‘Brave Wilderness’ channel on the platform.

Brave Wilderness showcases content about wildlife with hosts Nathaniel Peterson, (famously known as Coyote Peterson) or Mark Vins.

What separates their content from other shows is their unique approach to educating viewers about wildlife through thrilling (and often dangerous) experiences and experiments they put themselves through.

Their most popular segment involves them experimenting with bites and stings of various insects, both venomous and non-venomous.

That’s right, they would purposely capture a dangerous insect such as a wasp or centipede, get it to sting or bite them on the arm, and then show their reaction to audiences before rating the level of pain they went through.

Needless to say, they are trained professionals and always have a team of medical experts nearby to provide medical attention when they need it.

Mark Vins enters the bite zone of a Black Flame centipede

Brave Wilderness uploaded a video two days ago featuring one of its co-hosts Mark Vins, at an undisclosed location in East Malaysia.

“There is no shortage of painful bites and stings, in the jungles of Borneo,” Vins said in the introduction of the video.

In this episode, Vins is on the lookout for an Asian giant centipede native to the area.

The Scolopendra Subspinipes is a species of very large giant centipede that is found throughout Southeast Asia. It can grow up to 20cm long and can be distinguished by its orange-hued legs, giving it the ‘Black Flame’ moniker.

He plans to catch one and, you guessed it: let it bite him for our educational benefit and entertainment.

Not long after the intro, Vins immediately finds a Black Flame centipede on the jungle floor and captures it in a glass jar.

As he prepares himself, Vins did some research first on other people’s experiences from getting bitten by the giant centipede.

“Everyone that’s been bitten by the Scolopendra Subspinipes claims it’s not only the worst animal bite of their lives, it is the worst pain they have ever endured,” he said.

Vins is seen unpacking a snake hook to handle the creature, and a first aid kit for after what’s to come. he also pulled out an epipen in case he gets a severe allergic reaction from the bite.

As he takes the giant centipede out of the container, Vins first handles it with the snake hook before pinching it right on its neck so it can’t turn around and bite him prematurely.

Bite reaction and review

Vins’ reaction to the bite was nothing short of agonising, as he runs and rolls around trying to endure the pain. The bite also left two bleeding wounds on his arm.

As he writhed around in pain, all he could describe about it was a “burning” sensation.

28 minutes after the bite, Vins said “I knew it was going to be bad, but it was so much worse than I ever, ever imagined. I can tell you right now, this is the worst pain I have ever felt from an animal bite”.

The Scolopendra Subspinipes venom is a mixture of complex chemicals that can cause severe pain, swelling, tissue damage, and some other physiological effects (vomiting, sweating, headache, cardiac arrhythmia).

At the end of the video, Vins rated the giant centipede based on its intimidation, pain, and aftermath factors.

He gave a 10 out of 10 score on the intimidation factor, attributing it to the creature’s massive size, powerful legs, and razor-sharp jaws. Vins rated the pain a 10 as well, as he explains how the bite put him on the ground writhing almost immediately. As for the aftermath, Vins described it as a cascade of pain for over almost 24 hours, giving it a rating of 8 out of 10.

Based on all these scores, Vins gave the Asian giant centipede an overall score of 9.6 out of 10.

Watch the whole video here: