A man in India has died after chewing on a baby snake in an apparent revenge attack on the reptile.
According to the Times of India, Rama Mahto, 65, captured and bit a baby viper in retaliation for an earlier attack outside his home in the village of Madhodeh in the Nalanda district of Bihar.
Mahto, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time, was sitting out the front of his house on Sunday when the baby snake reportedly bit him on the leg.
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He eventually managed to capture the viper and, in a surprising twist, decided to enact his own unique form of vengeance on the animal, reported India TV.
In a statement issued to police and reported by the news outlet, Mahto's family said he was "bitten more than 10 times" on the face while chewing the snake.
He eventually discarded the reptile in a nearby tree.
Despite his family urging him to go to the hospital and seek treatment, "he refused and went to sleep" believing the snake's bite carried no venom due to its age.
Mahto went to bed and was found dead on Monday morning. The official cause of death has not yet been recorded.
Untreated venomous snakebites are a serious problem in several regions of the world.
The U.K. Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions (CSRI) estimates that snakebites kill 81,000 to 138,000 people annually.
A further 400,000 victims are also left with permanent physical disabilities and disfigurements as a result of venomous animal bites of this kind.
"It is the rural impoverished African and Asian communities, and particularly the most economically important and educationally vulnerable 10-30 year olds, that suffer disproportionately high rates of snakebite mortality and morbidity," the CSRI states.
Another recent story from the U.K, has further highlighted the dangers of leaving a snake bite untreated.
An 11-year-old schoolgirl ended up being hospitalized after she was bitten by a venomous adder while out walking with her family.
Grace Roys' father did not initially believe she had been bitten by a snake, given how rare attacks of this kind are in the U.K.
However, he soon realized something was amiss when she began to suffer with stomach pains and vomiting while her foot eventually turned black and blue.
She went on to spend several days in the hospital, during which time her leg swelled to three times its normal size. Worse still, doctors discovered some of the adder's venom had reached her kidneys.
Newsweek has reached out for the Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions for comment.
viafiasco on October 28th, 2021 at 03:33 UTC »
I knew it had to be someone from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.
brownmlis on October 28th, 2021 at 03:32 UTC »
He died as he lived...
Jakkin_Fools on October 28th, 2021 at 02:50 UTC »
Im not saying i condone it, but i understand.