A Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden employee was hospitalized Thursday after he was bitten by a venomous cobra.
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake snapped at the worker around 4 p.m. in a “behind-the-scenes area” not open to guests, the zoo’s communications director Michelle Curley told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The unnamed staff member – who worked at the reptile house – was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
He received only a partial bite and did not require antivenom, Curley said, adding that his prognosis was good.
“No guest is ever at risk,” Curley said.
The exact circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear.
When threatened, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake sounds its iconic rattle as a final warning before striking and can strike two-thirds of its body length, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
A Cincinnati Zoo worker was bitten by an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the reptile house. Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The toxin in its venom, called hemotoxin, kills red blood cells and causes tissue damage, which can be fatal in humans.ZUMAPRESS.com
They are the largest rattlesnakes in the world — with some adults reaching 8 feet long — and the most venomous snakes in North America.
Toxins in their venom, called hemotoxins, kill red blood cells and cause tissue damage, which can be fatal to humans.
The attack comes just a month after an Amazon driver was attacked by an eastern diamondback while delivering a package in Florida.
The courier failed to notice a large rattlesnake coiled near the front door until it pounced.
He was rushed to hospital in a “very serious condition,” but survived the horrific incident.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
