A supposed snake expert from the Philippines, who claimed to be immune to venom, has died a gruesome death after a cobra bit him in the tongue after he tried to kiss the deadly reptile.
On July 9, Bernardo Alvarez, 62, reportedly died after a deadly Northern Philippine Cobra he caught bit him in the tongue while he was pretending to kiss the venomous serpent in front of the locals in Mangaldan town, Pangasinan, Philippines, the Daily Mail reported.
The snake expert reportedly caught the slippery reptile in front of the villagers before claiming that he had tamed the creature. Alvarez was cheered by locals and neighbors as he showed off the snake to onlookers. He then allegedly held the cobra too close to his face and pretended to kiss it on the mouth. The snake then lunged forward at his face and bit his tongue, causing Alvarez to scream in pain before collapsing to the ground.
Even though police officials and medics immediately rushed Alvarez to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival as doctors said that his body had already become stiff from the effect of the venom, the Sun reported.
"The snake’s venom can cause paralysis which is what happened to the snake man. This paralysis can stop the breathing of the victim, affect the flow of oxygen in the body, and eventually stop the beating of the heart," Dr. Anna de Guzman, Provincial Health Officer, said.
"A policeman and a doctor arrived to check on him and told us he had no pulse so they tried to revive him. They were not successful since the cobra’s venom was too strong. We don’t know how we could accept what happened to him," said Teresa Oca, Alvarez's sister, who witnessed the ordeal.
Following the news of Alvarez's death, angry locals reportedly killed the snake.
The Northern Philippine Cobra, considered one of the deadliest snakes in the world, has extremely poisonous venom that attacks the victim's respiratory system and can kill a person with a single bite.
In a similar but unrelated incident, a Georgia woman named Trish Wilcher reportedly discovered that a family of 18 reptiles was living under her bed on Sunday, July 11, New York Daily News reported.
Wilcher reportedly noticed something moving near her bed as she was heading to sleep on Sunday, July 11.
“I spotted what I thought was a piece of fuzz on the floor, went to reach for it and it moved,” Wilcher said.
The aghast Wilcher, along with her husband Max Wilcher, then discovered that a mother snake was lying beneath her bed surrounded by 17 of her newborn babies.
Max used a grabbing device to place all the snakes into a linen bag and released them into a nearby creek. The Wilchers reportedly called in a wildlife expert to find if there were other snakes in their home, but none were found.
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