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Cobra Bites And Kills Chef, 20 Minutes After He Chopped Off It's Head

Published

10 years ago

August 23, 2014

A chef has died after the snake he was planning on cooking bit him – 20 minutes after he had chopped its head off.
Snakes have the capability of biting and injecting venom even after the head has been severed
The bizarre and tragic incident occurred in southern China’s Guangdong province. Peng Fan was preparing a traditional Indochinese dish made from the venomous snake.
But as he went to chuck the deadly reptile’s severed head into the bin it sunk its fangs into his hand. Unfortunately, Peng died before he could be given anti-venom for his wounds.
A police spokesman said: “It is highly unusual case but it appears to be just an accident. He prepared the snake himself and was just unlucky. Snakes are perfectly capable of biting once they have lost their heads.”
Snake expert Yang Hong-Chang said: “It is perfectly possible that the head remained alive and bit Peng’s hand. By the time a snake has lost its head, it’s effectively dead as basic body functions have ceased, but there is still some reflexive action.
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It means snakes have the capability of biting and injecting venom even after the head has been severed.”
Indochinese spitting cobras are found all across south east Asia. Bite symptoms include pain, swelling and necrosis around the wound. The bite of this snake is potentially lethal to an adult human. Deaths, which generally happen due to paralysis and consequent asphyxiation, mainly occur in rural areas where the procurement of antivenin is difficult.