So I read that news story, posted a few threads below of that girl who was "attacked" by a coral snake. Sloppy reporting I say. Below is the link to that same story, and below that is the revised version I would have written with the same quotes and info and if I worked for FLORIDA TODAY.



Enjoy,



Josh



"Real" Story At: http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryN831CORALSNAKE.htm





SNAKE-KILLER TAKES HOME SOUVENIR OF VICTIM



BY Johsua Alan Doetsch (filling in for J.D. GALLOP and VICTOR THOMPSON)

FLORIDA TODAY



MELBOURNE -- Elaina Smith isn't afraid of snakes, though they are afraid of her, so when she saw a colorful one she decided to attack. The startled serpent fought back.



Big mistake.



"The snake came out of the bathroom wall," alleged snake molester, 10-year-old Elaina, said Monday after returning from an Orlando hospital. "I threw it around, picked it up, it bit me, then I threw it down and stomped on it," Elaina admitted when questioned about her latest victim.



Park officials said the snake was near the concrete-block bathrooms and laundry room about 11:20 a.m. Sunday at campground B in Wickham Park when the girl attacked. The then frightened reptile bit Elaina on the knuckle of her right index finger.



Elaina said she brought the snake over to her mom, Debra, to finish off. Debra held the injured snake down as a friend chopped it in half with a machete.



A call was made to 911, and minutes later the girl was treated by paramedics and flown by helicopter to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. Doctors used an anti-venom to counteract the snake's deadly toxins, which attack the central nervous system. Doctors could not, however, treat the girl of her advanced case of idiocy.



Idiocy, if untreated, can lead to serious problems down the road.



The snake could not be treated for machete wounds and was pronounced DOA.



"She was treated and discharged," said Lisa Crites, spokeswoman for Holmes Regional Medical Center, which keeps a small amount of the anti-venom on hand. After leaving Holmes, the girl was airlifted to Orlando for observation and released from Florida Hospital on Monday.



"It was scary," Debra Smith said of the ordeal. She noted that usually, after attacking an innocent animal, her daughter, "had an erratic heart rate and high pulse for a couple of hours.”

Elaina, her two older sisters and brother are staying with their mother in campground B, which sits beside a pond surrounded pine trees and winding paths. Debra Smith said her family, from Melbourne, is living at the park temporarily.



Animals in this area are urged to use extreme caution.



Jack Masson, assistant director for Brevard County's Parks and Recreation Department, said the county hasn't had reports of coral snakes at the park, but does urge caution to any coral snakes that do visit the area.



Wickham Park is naturally vegetative and there are lots of trees, which can often attract people.



"Coral snakes don't attack from my understanding," Masson said. "From what I'm told, the girl was handling or picking up the snake when she was bitten."



IDIOCY



Idiocy attacks the central nervous system and brain of both young and old humans within minutes and can lead to the paralysis or death many reptiles. It is one of nature's most powerful killers. Snakes in particular are prone to dying of Idiocy.



Attacks on coral snake victims are very rare as they spend most of their lives burrowing in the ground and are urged to remain there. But if you must come above ground, use extreme caution. When you see a human, do not approach it. If the human you fear is in a public park, contact the appropriate authorities.



[Below, photo of Elaina Smith with trophy of latest victim.]

[ Hide Replies ]

• Coral Snake Victimized - nevermore, Sun Sep 5 02:00:25 2004