Real Stories Germany

No one in the world dares to get as close to such venomous snakes as the fearless Snake Sultan and his children do. In this snake documentary from Real Stories Germany you will learn everything about Gholam Reza Arjanaki, the most famous poisonous snake catcher in Iran. In his dangerous job, he even catches cobras by hand. Pretty brave.

Poisonous snake bites are not trivial. In some regions they are the second leading cause of death. Scientists estimate that more than 100,000 people worldwide die from venomous snake bites. About 1.8 million people suffer from poisoning and long-term damage. Antiserum could save many. However, the snakes and their venoms are needed to make it. Snake catchers are in demand, like Arjanaki. In his native Iran, one of the countries with the highest occurrence of poisonous snakes, this profession has a long tradition: if a snake sneaks into the house, the snake catcher is called. Arjanaki is considered the best: the Iranians call him the "Snake Sultan". The man from the nomadic tribe of "Bakhtiari" catches the poisonous snakes with his bare hands and delivers them to Iran's Central Serum Institute for the production of antidotes.

He is accompanied by his sons Ali (8 years) and Hassan (6 years). After they reached the age of six months, he built their resilience by injecting them with tiny amounts of snake venom. You grew up around snakes and are not afraid of even the most venomous.