close
Thursday November 14, 2024

In a counterattack, man kills snake after biting it back twice

Indian man bites snake back thinking it would reverse the venom’s effect

By Web Desk
July 07, 2024
A representational image of a snake. — AFP/File
A representational image of a snake. — AFP/File 

In an unusual incident, a man in India killed a snake which had bitten him by biting the reptile back twice. 

According to Hindustan Times, a railway employee Santosh Lohar was bitten by a snake. The man proceeded to bite the snake back thinking it would reverse the venom’s effect.

The snake died after being bitten by Santosh while he was taken to a hospital where he survived after proper medical treatment. He was discharged the next day.

Santosh, 35, was a part of team laying railway tracks in a thickly-forested part of Rajauli and he was bitten by a snake when he was lying down to sleep.

The railway worker, without a second thought, held the snake and bit it twice, believing the local myth that biting the reptile back would save the person who was bitten.

Around 50,000 people are killed by snakebites annually in India, reported Hindustan Times.

Around 90% of the bites are by these four snakes — common krait, Indian cobra, Russell's viper and saw scaled viper.