A cobra bit a 35-year-old farmer in Uttar Pradesh, India, three times after he confronted it in a neighbor’s yard.
Witnesses said he’d been drinking. He killed the snake, then tried to bite it back.
Here’s what to know
According to Bhaskar English, the episode began in Bairanaamau Manjhari village in Barabanki district after a cobra came out of a neighbor’s home and Sanjay, a 35-year-old local farmer, tried to catch it.
Villagers said the cobra struck him three times during the struggle. Even so, he reportedly kept hold of it, wrapped it around his wrist, killed it with a stick, and then walked around carrying its body.
Neighbors and family members urged him to give up the snake and get medical treatment, but he refused. Sanjay kept saying, “This will bite me; how dare it.” He also reportedly tried to bite the dead snake.
The cobra was said by villagers to be about three-and-a-half feet long. An hour after the bites, the village head took Sanjay and his family to CHC Suratganj, where doctors gave him antivenom and glucose before discharging him once his condition stabilized.
What can be done?
As CHC Superintendent Dr. Rajarshi Tripathi said, “Such actions should not be taken after a snake bite. After a snake bite, one should immediately go to the hospital without wasting time.”
Where can I learn more?
These stories involve similar encounters, snakebites, and split-second choices that can be dangerous. They cover a toddler in Bihar, snakebite risks in India, and other venomous snake emergencies abroad.
• In Bihar, a toddler mistook a cobra for a toy and bit the snake.
• Across India, rising temperatures are worsening snakebite risks and straining rural healthcare.
• In Hurghada, Egypt, a tourist was fatally bitten during a resort snake show.
• A handler survived repeated black mamba bites after building a risky venom tolerance.
• On Uzbekistan’s steppe, a wild Caspian cobra reared up with venom of medical interest.
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