Among the attractions at the reptile zoo in Klagenfurt, the southern Austrian town where Mr Jorg Haider has his base, is a blue poison arrow frog from Surinam. Although it is less than 4 cm long, this creature can produce enough poison to kill 10 humans or 20,000 mice.
Many of Mr Haider's political opponents credit the far-right leader with similar destructive powers, so that when he resigned abruptly as leader of the Freedom Party last night, the question on everyone's lips was: what is he up to now?
Dr Haider's stated reason for resigning was that he did not wish to "stand in the way" of the government formed earlier this month by the Freedom Party and the conservative People's Party.
There is no doubt that Dr Haider's international notoriety has been a major impediment to the right-wing coalition's efforts to persuade Austria's partners that it is committed to democratic values, tolerance and respect for human rights. And his departure from the party leadership will make it easier for Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to persuade Vienna's EU partners to lift their diplomatic sanctions against his government.
At a hastily convened press conference in Vienna shortly before midnight last night, Mr Haider told reporters that he no longer wished to give the impression that he was a "shadow chancellor" orchestrating the actions of the six Freedom Party ministers in the government.
"I want to avoid our ministers always being confronted with the charge that they have to clear every decision with the shadow chancellor in Carinthia," he said.
But opposition politicians were sceptical last night about the resignation, which the Green leader, Prof Alexander Van der Bellen, described as "hardly credible and politically transparent".
The Social Democrats' leader, Dr Alfred Gusenbauer, said Dr Haider had clearly realised that he was making the government's job impossible but he accused the far-right leader of planning a subtle "double strategy". By remaining in his post as provincial governor of Carinthia, Mr Haider would have a base from which to snipe at the government, only to return to the national scene before the next election as "the saviour of the fatherland".
His successor as party leader, Vice-chancellor Susanne RiessPasser, who is known with little affection by her colleagues as "King Cobra", owes her entire political career to a record of fierce loyalty to Dr Haider. If he is indeed plotting a return to centre stage at some time in the future, Ms Riess-Passer is unlikely to stand in his way.
The new party leader demurely took second place next to her predecessor at last night's press conference, at which Dr Haider made clear that his resignation did not mean a withdrawal from politics and that he still had ambitions to become chancellor.
The US State Department welcomed Dr Haider's resignation as "a step in the right direction" but Austria's EU partners are likely to be more restrained in their response. There is no doubt, however, that last night's decision will be welcomed by EU leaders as a vindication of their tough stance against Austria's rightwing government.
Now that the impact of the sanctions has been felt, some EU leaders may judge it is time to soften their approach and resolve a crisis that has become uncomfortable for all sides.
But as Dr Haider retreats to Klagenfurt to play the role of a local chieftain, his critics in Austria will continue to keep a close eye on him, calculating that, even if he appears to be sleeping quietly, this cold-blooded predator remains as poisonous as ever.
