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9-year-old confuses deadly rattlesnake for ‘stuffed animal’ in grandmother’s yard

Home> News> US News

Published 20:54 10 Nov 2023 GMT

9-year-old confuses deadly rattlesnake for ‘stuffed animal’ in grandmother’s yard

Nine-year-old boy has close encounter with deadly rattlesnake in grandma's garden in Florida.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

A nine-year-old boy had a close encounter with a deadly rattlesnake in his grandma's back yard.

I definitely know what I'd have done if, at the age of nine, I'd stepped outside into my grandma's garden to find a four-foot four diamondback rattlesnake lounging around - run!

However, one boy didn't have quite the same reaction.

Nine-year-old Angelo Owens showed WESH 2 News where he found the snake on Wednesday (8 November) at his grandma's house in Longwood, Florida.

He told the outlet: "I thought it was a stuffed animal."

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When members of the news team told him he'd been face-to-face with one of the deadliest snakes in the world, Angelo simply smiled and questioned: "Deadliest?"

Indeed, the Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnake 'is a large and impressive snake, and bites can be very dangerous to people and pets,' according to Florida Museum.

"The victim should seek immediate medical care from a physician or hospital experienced in treating snakebites," it adds, noting Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes are found 'throughout Florida and in every county'.

Angelo found the snake in his grandma's back yard.
YouTube/ WESH 2 News

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When Angelo told his family about his slithering finding, they underestimated it too, although not to quite the same degree as the nine-year-old, thinking it was a more typical, and much less venomous snake.

But then his father, Alex Owens, said they heard a 'real loud Shhh' sound'.

"You could hear it two, maybe three, houses away. I mean, it was loud," he added.

The dad even later admitted: "It had me shaking a little bit."

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The snake has since been taken to a reptile centre.
WESH 2 News

Thankfully, central Florida's 'renowned critter catcher' Bob Cross whizzed round and helped safely remove the snake.

Cross reflected: "[Angelo] is a lucky boy. Had he not been wise enough to go get mom, if he'd gone over and tried to play - you know boys being boys - if he had gone over there and tried to play with it or pick it up and had gone near it and it bit him, it would be a different story today."

The snake has since been sent away to a reptile centre which will reportedly collect its venom to create an anti-venom, so next time someone isn't quite as lucky as Angelo, they can be treated and live to tell the tale.

Featured Image Credit: WESH2

Topics: US News, Animals, Health, Parenting, News, YouTube, Social Media

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

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