How worried should Filipinos be about venomous sea snakes? Kuya Kim explains

Picture this: you finally conquer your fear of the ocean and decide to go diving. As you're swimming in the deep blue sea, you find yourself relaxing underwater —until suddenly, a snake swims beside you!

As seen on Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras," Tuesday that's what happened to Mark Joey Florentino, a community guide who went diving in Panglao, Bohol in the Philippines.

"Nagulat talaga ako. Vinideohan ko siya noon then hindi ko in-expect na inatake niya 'ko," Mark said.

It turns out he had encountered a banded sea krait, which gets its name from its black vertical bands or stripes on its white or bluish body.

It's called "walo-walo" in Visayas and Mindanao. The creature got its name because once it bites someone, that person may die in eight seconds, eight minutes, or eight hours.

So, how venomous is the sea snake or walo-walo?

Kuya Kim said that the walo-walo can produce a venom that's 10 times stronger than the poison of the rattlesnake.

The walo-walo swims slowly, but the poison of carnivorous sea snakes can be used to paralyze and catch their prey, which are fish, eel, squid, and crab.

However, Michael Eugene Ventorillo, an aquatic biologist, said, "'Yung cases po talaga na mayroong nakagat ng walo-walo is very few lang. Sea kraits po in nature are timid. Hindi po sila aggressive talaga unless na rough-handle po sila."

If you encounter a sea snake, he advised to keep a distance of five meters. If achieving that distance is not possible, at the very least, he said to try to get out of its path.

"I-respect ang boundary between man and wildlife," he said.

—Kimberly Tsao/MGP, GMA Integrated News