Oct 26, 2008 7:01 pm US/Eastern
Homestead Man Recovering From King Cobra Bite
HOMESTEAD (CBS4) ―
A Homestead man is in the hospital, recovering after being bitten by a King Cobra. Experts say this is the first time in around twenty years that they've encountered a King Cobra bite in South Florida.
The victim is an experienced snake handler and a volunteer at the Everglades Outpost, a wildlife rescue sanctuary. He's not in serious condition at Homestead Hospital; after just one bite to the forearm, he could be fighting to survive for the next three days.
The 50-year-old victim was reportedly cleaning the cobra's cage. "In this case, this gentleman has been dealing with snakes for 30-plus years at a minimum, and he just got a little careless," explained Miami-Dade Venom Unit Chief Al Cruz. "The snake did what a snake does, which is bite when it gets the opportunity."
That bite has the venom response unit watching the handler's every move. They're watching his heart rate and his lungs, and making sure he doesn't have internal bleeding. King Cobra venom is complicated and deadly.
"He's in an excruciating amount of pain at this point," Cruz said. "When it injects venom, it's not so much the toxicity but the quantity. They can inject up to a martini glass full of venom into you."
To give an example of how serious the situation is: the response unit had to administer fifty vials of anti-venom. They'll remain at the hospital throughout the night, monitoring his condition, and could be at his bedside as long as three days before being sure the venom has left his system.
The King Cobra is a very dangerous snake. Its venom has the ability to kill a full-grown elephant. The snake is not native to South Florida. They're found mostly in Asian countries, such as Thailand and India. There are only a few of them located in animal sanctuaries throughout South Florida.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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