Fascinating. I knew they wrapped around and swallowed you but didn't know they bit you.
Also I suspect the handler was jolted by the taser to but was greatful for it.
But am I the only one that wonders about the ability of the snake handlers if their only means of resolving problems with the animals is the Police Dept ?
I guess they aren't going to try this again. But if they do, they might have their own taser handy, just in case.
"I knew they wrapped around and swallowed you but didn't know they bit you."
LOL!!
They have to grab you and hold on to you somehow! They have all these backward pointed teeth and not only do they keep their bite they actually slowly walk their teeth forward.
As far as your last comment...in my opinion what we call "snake handlers" are just people who fool with snakes. Not like there is a college degree in it. (Now watch somebody come up with proof that there is!)
Good handlers have many other means of resolving problems. Most handlers keep a spray bottle of alcohol handy. Snakes don't like alcohol, and spraying or even pouring the alcohol in the snake's mouth will usually make it release the bite and try to slither away. Warm water sometimes has the same effect.
Dog bites require people to receive medical treatment about 800,000 times a year. As a result, a dog biting someone this severely isn't news. About 20 people are killed by dogs every year. Fatal attacks by non-venomous snakes have happened maybe 10 times over the past twenty or thirty years. Their bites rarely require more than a little Neosporin and a bandage. However, these few events seem to make big news.
I suspect the reason that snake attacks are receiving so much attention these days is that the nanny-state is looking for another chance to pass regulations and bans. In addition, the animal-rights extremists see reptiles as a soft target in their efforts to eliminate all pet ownership. Between them, the strategy is to publicize every incident involving any snake, particularly the big ones. They'll build the hysteria and then write laws that paint all snakes with a broad brush. That way, they can ban the snakes that are incapable of hurting someone when they ban the ones that can hurt people. They are relying on people's ignorance to support these new laws. They are also relying on the fact that we've gone from being a society where a huge justification was needed to impose on someone's freedom to being a society where the burden of justification is on the person who may be losing a freedom.
Bill
Yes, they bite to capture the prey before wrapping around it. You wouldn't want dinner to start chewing or clawing before it suffocates, afterall...