More On:
snakes
Man uncovers venomous salad surprise at grocery store
San Diego Zoo worker bitten by venomous snake with no antivenom
Florida bans 16 exotic pets amid too many disturbing toilet incidents
Happy accident! Breeder creates snake with smiley face markings
Snakes on a boat?
An Australian man’s fishing trip took a terrifying turn after he realized he was trapped aboard his boat with a deadly Tiger Snake.
“My heart rate went up like billy-o,” 80-year-old Bob Thatcher told the Independent of the harrowing encounter, which occurred while six miles offshore on Lake Wellington in Gippsland, Victoria.
Thatcher was reportedly casting lines when he noticed the meter-long serpent sitting about 11 inches from his feet, ABC reported. His craft, meanwhile, measured just 6 feet by 4 feet.
“I saw the forked tongue flicking at me and I thought, ‘That’s a blessed tiger snake,’” exclaimed the elderly fisherman of his slithery stowaway. “I had a few other words but I better not repeat that.”
He was right to be nervous: The Tiger Snake is one of the world’s most venomous serpents with a bite that can induce paralysis and death in as little as 30 minutes, according to toxicology reports.
To make matters worse, the reptilian interloper was situated between Thatcher and the anchor, effectively preventing him from returning home.
“I didn’t like the bugger,” recalled the besieged seaman.
An opening finally came when the reptile migrated to another part of the boat, ABC reported. A quick-thinking Thatcher threw his jacket over the snake, causing it to freak out and disappear down the side of the vessel, thereby allowing the captain to retrieve the anchor.
Thatcher then embarked on an “uncomfortable” half-hour journey home with his uninvited passenger.
“It didn’t take me too long to get out of the boat when I got back to the ramp,” quipped the waterman, who had arranged for a local snake catching company to meet him at the dock. Thankfully, the reptile wranglers were able to extricate the Tiger Snake from the boat without incident.
The unusual ordeal marked a first for Thatcher, who had fished all over the Land Down Under.
“I’ve had a few problems with crocodiles,” he recalled. “But I never thought of a snake coming in the boat — no way.”
This isn’t the first time a deadly serpent has infiltrated someone’s vehicle. In a scenario too outlandish for a “Snakes On A Plane” sequel, an Aussie trucker successfully fought off an Eastern Brown Snake while driving at 70 miles per hour along a busy highway.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article
