A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy was hospitalised on Tuesday after being bitten by a snake while walking in a field with his uncles just outside the Nicosia village of Mammari.
According to the officer on duty at the nearby police station in Kokkinotrimitha, the boy was walking in the field along with two uncles at around 6.30pm when he accidentally trod on the snake.
The snake, which turned out to be a blunt nosed viper, struck back at the young boy, biting him on his right leg before slithering away.
The screaming youngster was rushed to Nicosia General Hospital before being moved to Makarios Hospital.
Doctors had described the boy’s condition as serious but a constable from Kokkinotrimithia police station yesterday said that the boy was looking much better.
“We have not been able to catch the snake but unfortunately these things happen and we just have to be ready to deal with instances like these when they happen. Fortunately, the boy is going to be alright”, added the constable.
The blunt-nosed viper (Vipera Lebetina) is a fat, dangerous and highly poisonous viper varying in colour with a yellow and horn-like, tail-end.
According to herpetologists, the blunt-nose viper is particularly dangerous because its teeth remain embedded in the tissue and the movements of the jaw pump large amounts of poison into the wound when it bites.
It can be found almost anywhere in Cyprus but prefers well vegetated terrain or rocky places and dry forests with small water pits so it can hunt for birds.
It can also be found in and around gardens, stables and old houses where it can also hunt for small mammals.
Cyprus snake expert Snake George recently told the Cyprus Mail that, “Cyprus is a paradise for reptiles due to the warm and sunny climate, but the attitude of Cypriots to the reptiles is totally wrong. People here believe the only good snake is a dead one.”
He said that 16 to 20 people were bitten on the island every year, with the last fatality coming 10 years ago when a Cypriot woman was bitten by a blunt nosed viper in Protaras.
Python found
POLICE IN Aglandja were also on their toes dealing with snakes on Tuesday evening after a python was spotted snoozing under a man’s car while it was parked outside his house.
Officers, who were called to the man’s house at 10.30pm, had brought a herpetologist with them who safely managed to catch the snake.
According to investigating officers, efforts are now under way to locate the owner of the snake.
“You cannot find snakes like these in Cyprus”, said an official of the Nicosia Police Headquarters. The snake most likely belongs to someone who somehow misplaced it or let it go”, said one of the officers.
He adds, “The snake has now been placed in a cage and experts are looking after it for the time being.”
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