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A father, Jake Coombe, was hospitalized after being bitten by a brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) while protecting his twoyearold daughter Alba, who was playing at home.
Coombe told News Corp that his paternal instincts prompted him to act when he noticed a strange movement approaching the child.
Coombe managed to keep Alba away from the attack, but he couldn’t prevent the snake, known as the second most venomous in the world, from biting his foot. He was taken to a hospital in Adelaide where he was observed. Fortunately, the snake’s bite did not release any venom.
Facebook/Jake Coombe
The father reported that he ran, grabbed his daughter, threw himself forward and was hit by the snake. His heroic stance drew praise on social media. Coombe said the shock and adrenaline at the time prevented him from feeling the extent of the injury, according to 7News.
He explained that he was aware of the danger of being bitten but could not expose his daughter to such a risk. He spent the night in the hospital and, despite the dry bite, pondered how the situation would have been different if he hadn’t seen the snake in time.
Coombe’s fatherinlaw helped find the snake hiding in the house. The brown snake is responsible for about 60% of human deaths from snakebites in Australia and is the deadliest animal in the country in this regard. The species reproduces rapidly in urban areas, infiltrating homes through openings such as pipes.