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Boy hospitalised after snake bite
By John Leonidou
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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