This predator is not the best to pet.
A girl visiting Russia’s Butterflies Park pet zoo has recently learned that not all animals are really ideal for petting.
Five-year-old Viktoria was interacting with a rufous-billed snake when the predatory reptile curled around its neck and bit it in the face in an interaction captured in a viral video. It was only after being bitten that a staff member removed the reptile (a slightly poisonous breed that comes from East Africa) and the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment. (Hospitalization was done as a safety measure, as the snake’s venom is mild and the bite is no stronger than the sting of a syringe).
“We called an ambulance and took the child to the hospital for examination,” Viktoria’s father, Vladimir, told East2West cable service. “Zoo staff said the snake doesn’t attack people at all.”
Little Viktoria received a facial bandage for her problems.
It is not clear why the snake – which according to zoo workers had never attacked anyone – decided to cut the child, but it is possible that it was because of what was in her belly: Viktoria would have eaten a chicken dinner before handling the snake. He had also been playing with the zoo chicks before moving on to reptiles.
“Snakes are very sensitive to smell,” explained reptile expert Ekaterina Uvarova, East2West reported. “If she was hungry and the girl smelled of prey like chicks, that could cause the snake to bite her.”
Another possibility is that the snake had the reptile equivalent of a panic attack due to “excessive attention” from visitors, Uvarova added.
“An animal that is touched all the time, that has nowhere to hide and rest, and that is in constant stress. It’s never good, ”he said, calling for zoos to be banned from stroking.
Butterflies Park did not return any requests for comments.
Zoo staff said the snake had never bitten anyone.
Experts believed the snake could have bitten Viktoria because of her recent chicken dinner.