Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Posted on 08/23/2005 11:43:23 AM PDT by girlangler
In Jefferson, snake bites the hand that tries to save it Wednesday, August 17, 2005 BY BILL SWAYZE Star-Ledger Staff Stephen Sodones spotted it along the edge of Route 23 in Jefferson, a snake just starting its precarious slide to the other side of the highway.
So the 62-year-old animal lover picked it up, hoping to carry it to safety. But in doing so, Sodones quickly learned one of nature's more important facts: Snakes bite.
What bit Sodones three times on the arm Monday night was a copperhead, which can grow to 4 feet and have fangs like hypodermic needles. No one is quite sure how big this one was.
Advertisement
Sodones, who lives in the Newfoundland section of Jefferson, remained hospitalized last night in the intensive care unit at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains. His condition was listed as critical, but improving, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Sodones was given an antivenin intravenously, and is expected to be fine, said Steven Marcus, medical director at New Jersey Poison Information and Education System.
Some say Sodones could have fared much worse.
"If you had to be bit by some venomous snake, you'd want it to be a copperhead," said Joe Abene, venomous snake expert at the Bronx Zoo. "Most people do not have to go to the hospital."
Copperheads get their name from the copper-like hue of the head and are fairly common in the Jefferson area. They account for more cases of venomous snake bites than any other snakes, but their venom is the least toxic of the species, according to the Web site snakesandfrogs.com.
What prompted Sodones to pick up the snake in the first place remains a question to police, authorities said.
But to those who know Sodones, his actions made perfect sense.
A animal lover, Sodones lives alone with a white long-haired cat named "Old Cat." He likes to feed bears and stop traffic so ducks can walk across the road. Not too long ago, he tried to revive a bumblebee, keeping it in the palm of his hand with some water until it buzzed away two hours later, said John Bross, a friend and neighbor.
"One time, I stepped on a spider and he wouldn't talk to me for two days," Bross said. "Steve's got a problem with animals. He loves them too much."
Friends said Sodones routinely takes walks along Route 23, not far from his house. At about 8:30 Monday night, he spotted the reptile in the road. When he picked it up, it attacked him, police said.
At first, Sodones didn't think much about the bites. But about four hours later, when he felt woozy, Sodones called 911, police said.
By then, the snake was long gone.
"It was a good thing to do, but the wrong way to do it. I wouldn't recommend anyone touch a venomous snake unless they know what they are doing," Abene said. "What the heck was he thinking?"
Staff writer Jordan Doronila contributed to this report.
Sounds like the kind of idiotic thing I would.
I'm a fool for critters. Sue me.
If it was Zell MIller, he'd kill the snake. He said in the "Fahren-Hype 9/11" documentary, he didn't wait for the government to take the copperhead nest from under his home in Georgia, he just got a hoe and wacked them to pieces. Maybe Zell can teach this guy a thing or two.
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
************
I'm trying not to laugh...
What a moron.
Copperheads are nothing to mess with for any purpose. But to think that advanced, intense predator would need help crossing a road is the height of stupidity.
No more Disney cartoons for this cretin.
Agree totally.
Around your home or yard they are on "Your" turf and as such are a danger to kids, pets and you.
I do exactly the same....
OOOppps,
Even me,
the softy,
I know not to touch a copperhead.
Someday he will be bear feed.
Only in those last few horrific moments will he learn that, no, that was NOT Yogi looking for a pic-a-nic basket.
Vintage Zell. I love that man
Actually, I've always found it the opposite. Cottonmouths will actually try and avoid you unless you step on them, which I've done a couple of times, and even then, if they have an avenue of escape, they'll take off like a bat out of hell. Scared the hell out of me, and the last time, I think I achieved a world record for a standing, vertical jump. ;^)
Copperheads, on the other hand, can get pretty mean. The majority of snakebites we get down here in south Louisiana come from copperheads, followed by rattlers. Mocassin bites are more rare and I can't remember the last time I heard of somebody getting bitten by a coral snake.
ORIGINAL:
"He likes to feed bears and stop traffic so ducks can walk across the road. Not too long ago, he tried to revive a bumblebee, keeping it in the palm of his hand with some water until it buzzed away two hours later, said John Bross, a friend and neighbor."
REVISED by Kenth:
"I can just see it, one day his neighbors will come across a bear feeding on his bee-stung and bloated carcass in the road where he was hit after trying to stop traffic for some ducks."
LOL!
Do you think this clown would taste funny to bears?
By saving the snake, he would lead to the death of many other little critters.
Well, what else could happen? :-)
Perhaps you should try a nice plate of fried rattlesnake.
Personally I prefer it with tartar sauce or maybe ketchup.
Baked potato with all the fixings and a tossed green salad.
It's nice to see someone else doesn't think it's so crazy to help a snake, or any critter for that matter, across the road. You don't have to be a PETA kook to love God's creatures, and help them along now and then.
When we lived in the Northwest, I used to walk through our yard, over and over again, to make sure there weren't any snakes in the yard. Not because I feared them, I just didn't want to mow over one and kill it.
When I find a spider in the house, I capture it in a container and put it outside. I do the same with bees.
But hey, I'm not perfect. I also hunt and fish. LOL
You`re so right about those copperhead`s,I`ve got them on my farm too.Mild tempered reptiles
Those cottonmouths,they`re a diferent snake,they`ll come at `ya.A person`s in a world of hurt if bitten by one.
I`ve heard that people that live in La. that aren`t scared of gators fear that water moccasin.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.