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If you came face to face with a snake that you thought was venomous, you'd run a mile, wouldn't you?
But what if you thought the snake was harmless? You might be tempted to take a closer look…
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Sometimes it's hard to tell which snakes are harmless and which are very dangerous.
Take this scarlet king snake for example – it's completely harmless, but has the same colouring as the deadly coral snake!
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So – if you came across one of these, would you run a mile or would you bet with your life that it was the harmless one?
Both snakes live in Florida. If you lived there and made the wrong decision, you could end up fighting for your life. And that's exactly what happened to Mike Kiekenapp.
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He was in his front yard and found what he thought was a harmless scarlet king snake.
But it was in fact a deadly coral snake…
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It happened on a lovely sunny day in April 1999.
15-year old Mike was playing in his front yard, when he saw the snake.
He picked it up thinking it was fine…
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He didn't realise he was just moments away from being bitten by a coral snake, one of the most deadly snakes in the whole of the USA!
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Mike decided to show the snake to his friends RJ and Jared, so he jumped on his bike and rode the short journey to their house.
He had no idea he was carrying a killer…
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RJ and Jarred admired the snake, too.
They watched and studied it with interest.
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As did Mike.
In fact he started to copy what the snake was doing with his tongue.
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Suddenly the snake lunged forward, sinking its fangs into Mike's tongue.
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It felt like a thousand bee stings, as the snake injected its deadly venom into Mike's tongue.
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Mike was shocked by the attack, but still didn't realise he'd been bitten by one of the most poisonous snakes in the USA. |
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He returned home, and put the snake in a jar.
After a short while Mike told his aunt that he'd been bitten by a snake, and she dialled the emergency services on 911.
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Paramedic Tony Vasquez explained that it was extremely lucky he'd been so close by, because with snake bites, minutes count.
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Doctor Heidi Cohen explained that because the snake had been kept, they were able to get the antivenom from the hospital pharmacy and mix it even before Mike had arrived.
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His tongue was swollen and he was having trouble swallowing, as he went into shock.
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But slowly the antivenom started to work, but Mike needed a further ten shots before he was in the clear.
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He's extremely lucky to be alive.
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