Boy kills cobra by biting it after snake wrapped itself round him
Topics: Animals, World News
Daisy Phillipson
Featured Image Credit: New India Express/Blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Animals, World News
A brave boy decided to give a cobra a taste of its own medicine by biting it after it wrapped itself around his arm.
Sounding like something straight out of a Chuck Norris meme, the quick-thinking eight-year-old managed to kill the snake by 'biting it hard twice' after it attacked him.
The boy, identified only as Deepak, had been playing outside of his house in the Pandarpadh village of Jashpur District, India, when the slithery reptile snuck up on him.
Out of nowhere, it latched onto his arm, wrapped itself around his hand and bit him.
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Speaking to local media, Deepak said (via The New Indian Express): "The snake got wrapped around my hand and bit me. I was in great pain.
"As the reptile didn’t budge when I tried to shake it off, I bit it hard twice. It all happened in a flash."
Snakebites are a common occurrence in India, with a recent study showing that they caused approximately 1.2 million deaths over the past 20 years.
However, this story ended differently thanks to Deepak's quick reflexes, with his retaliation bites killing the cobra.
His family were understandably concerned that the animal had released venom into his bloodstream and so they rushed him to a nearby health clinic.
Dr Jems Minj, a medical officer at the centre, explained: "He was quickly administered anti-snake venom and kept under observation for the entire day and discharged."
Luckily, they found he had only suffered a dry bite, which occurs when the snake doesn't release any poison when it bites.
These might happen if the reptile is younger, has a condition that affects its venom gland, or if it's trying to scare off other animals rather than kill them.
Qaiser Hussain, a snake expert, told the outlet: "Deepak didn’t show any symptoms and recovered fast owing to the dry bite when the poisonous snake strikes but no venom is released.
"Such snakebites are painful and may show only local symptoms around the area of bite."
Amazingly enough, a similar story unfolded earlier this year when a two-year-old bit and killed a snake to get her own back after the creature sunk its fangs into her.
The toddler, who was only identified by her initials SE, was playing in the back garden of her home in the village of Kantar in Bingol, Turkey, when neighbours heard a scream and came running out to see what had happened.
To their horror, they found the little girl had a 50cm snake clamped down in her mouth and a bite mark on her lower lip.
After efficiently killing the snake, the neighbours carried out first aid on the girl and took her to hospital for treatment.
SE's very relieved dad Mehmet Ercan, who was at work when the snake struck, said: "Allah has protected her, really.
"Our neighbours have told me that the snake was in the hand of my child, she was playing with it and then it bit her.
"Then she has bitten the snake back as a reaction."
Thankfully she was okay and recovered from the ordeal – but the same couldn't be said for the snake.