King cobras have a bad reputation of being fierce predators, of hissing aggressively while rearing up, of biting first, and of not even taking the time to ask any questions. Get in their way, intrude on their space and it’s fanging time.
But the reality of the situation is that they are not really known for attacking humans for the hell of it. They prefer to keep to themselves, and only when they feel threatened do they have a hissing fit, flaring their trademark hoods out to look mean in an attempt to scare people away.
Generally, people that get bitten by them either accidentally step on or disturb them unexpectedly. Or, in the case of Nguyen Van Tam, try to catch one by hand.
Nguyen Van Tam, a native of Vietnam, thought it would be a good idea on August 19, 2020, to catch a three-meter king cobra snake weighing nearly 5 kgs, in an effort to support his family. In Vietnam, snake meat was considered to be nutritious, tasty, with a strong gamy taste between chicken and beef. The experienced snake hunter was looking forward to his meal as he closed in on his prey.
It was his son who had first alerted him to the presence of the cobra on his farm, so, off he went to investigate.
He came upon the cobra unexpectedly, surprising it and surprising himself. As the snake reared up, his instincts kicked in and he made a grab for the snake. Bad move. Swaying to one side to avoid Van Tam’s grasp, the cobra reacted in the only way it knew how by snapping forward and sinking its fangs into Van Tam’s leg.
Eyes bulging, in shock and in pain, the Vietnamese grabbed the head of the snake, hoping to dislodge it. That didn’t work. If anything it angered the cobra even more and it reacted by grabbing Van Tam just as he tried to grab it. The cobra easily won the power struggle, fangs still buried deep and its body now coiled tightly around Van Tam’s arm. It now had its victim and had no intention of letting go.
Nguyen Van Tam knew he was in a really bad position, extremely aware that a single bite from this poisonous snake could kill 20 people. Fortunately, he was not alone at the time and a taxi was called to take him to the hospital 20 km away, snake and all.
Even at the hospital the snake, obviously still incensed at being considered that day’s lunch, didn’t want to release its prize and had to be killed in order to free the unlucky snake hunter.
At first, Nguyen Van Tam was able to communicate coherently with the emergency personnel even though his leg was bleeding and turning purple. Within 30 minutes, though, his breathing became labored as the poison seeped further into his system and he had to be put on a ventilator.
After spending weeks in intensive care in critical condition, Nguyen Van Tam slowly recovered, happy to have survived the unfortunate experience. Later, he had to admit that maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea, after all, to add a king cobra to his family’s meal choices.
This species is known as the world’s longest venomous snake, and even though it’s not known for snacking on humans, in this particular case it had turned the tables on the hunter, almost having him for lunch.