On a hot afternoon, a 72-year-old man was fishing with a rod on a riverbank. All around was calm, and he had no idea that deadly danger lay hidden nearby. Suddenly a cobra reared its hood and came out of the bushes towards him. Instead of panicking he decided to fight, and with one blow of a spade he severed the snake's head from its body.

He thought that was the end of it. But exactly five minutes later the severed head seemed to come back to life and sank its fangs into his palm. The man writhed in pain and then fought for his life for two long months before recovering and returning home. The incident happened recently in China.

According to Chinese media, it happened on a scorching afternoon in May. The 72-year-old, named Zhang, had gone to fish at a quiet spot by a river, not knowing the area was the haunt of a cobra.

When the snake moved to attack, Zhang tried to control the situation. Realising that backing away might make the snake more aggressive, he struck it with a spade he had with him and then, for safety, cut off its head.

Zhang thought the danger had passed, but minutes later something terrible happened. When he went to pick up the head, which had been separated from the body for about five minutes, it suddenly opened its mouth and sank its fangs into his palm. Zhang said the bite felt "like being electrocuted" and he screamed in pain. The head did not stop at biting; it held his hand tightly for some time.

Zhang somehow removed the head and rushed to hospital, but the wound had already begun to swell and darken. Within less than 20 minutes he felt pressure in his chest, his vision blurred and he began vomiting. After first aid at a local hospital he was taken to the emergency department of Zhejiang Provincial Hospital.

By the time he arrived, his entire left arm was swollen, with severe swelling from the thumb to the shoulder, and the skin at the bite had turned black and begun to break down.

Doctors said the cobra's venom had seriously affected his body and the tissue could have been permanently destroyed without prompt action. They performed emergency surgery to clean the damaged area, and after two months of treatment and healing his hand was saved.

Wang Yonggao, a wound and vascular surgery specialist at Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that even after a snake's head is severed, nerve reflexes can stay active for some time. The severed head can therefore keep the ability to bite for 10 minutes or longer, and its venom glands can also remain active for a while, so venom can enter the body through a bite.

After his treatment Zhang said he would never take such a risk again. "I will never behave recklessly again. I have paid far too high a price," he said.

The report was based on the Global Times.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.