These Marines aren't drinking snake blood just for show.
Jungle training teaches essential skills for survival in a wild, tropical environment.
Marines learn skills from identifying poisonous plants, differentiating between venomous and non-venomous snakes, and finding water sources if they get lost.
One of the instructors interviewed by Marine Staff Sgt. Matthew Bragg said that drinking animal blood is one way to stay hydrated in the absence of another water source.
This anticipated part of their training will come in handy if Marines become isolated from their unit and far from the logistics train they normally depend on.
Marines also learn skills like building fires and alternate ways to stay hydrated.
"I didn't know that ants are a trace of water. Wherever they're filing to, they know where the location of water is," said US Army Spc. Louis Smith.
Smith said that new knowledge is something he'd take back home with him.
