DAILY WORLD (Opelousas, Louisiana) 24 October 07 Snakebites plague locals in squirrel season - Two suffer, survive bites while hunting (Chris Berzas)
Wendell Young of Eunice had just arrived at the campground on Sunday, September 30th. He and other friends at his hunting lease were preparing the area for the upcoming squirrel opener of the next weekend.
"I opened the box in the ground that contained the water connections to the camp," said 54-year-old parish manager with the Louisiana Department of Social Services.
"I do remember looking down and not seeing anything.
"But just after placing my hand under the box I felt something like a wasp sting on my right index finger," recalled Young. "Then I felt the bite again, and a little later there was strong pain."
Evidently Young did not see the foot-long copperhead nestled on the side of the box's interior.
"I knew it was a copperhead, and the first thing I did was squeeze off the finger with my other hand so as to possibly stop the venom from traveling," recalled the hunter.
Young then remembers a friend driving up, and between the both of them - a makeshift tourniquet was tied below the bite. The snake was dispatched but left in the area as Young positively identified it as a copperhead. He is an accomplished woodsman having hunted since his youth.
"I then called my wife as I was driving to the hospital in Eunice," said Young. "She came through for me as the hospital personnel were ready when I drove up."
The hunter then remembers getting a tetanus injection and antibiotics. Later he received four units of antivenom.
Young was rather fortunate as he only spent one evening in ICU at Acadian Medical Center in Eunice. His hand did swell, and he was out from work for a week on physician's orders due to the snakebite.
Six days later on the opening weekend of squirrel season, another hunter received a bite from a rattlesnake at Thistlethwaite Wildlife Management Area north of Washington. The hunter had to be air-lifted out of the area and taken to a hospital in Opelousas.
"This was the first snakebite victim coming out of Thistlethwaite WMA in my eight years there," said Tom Woods, wildlife technician with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "I had reports the bite came from a rattlesnake."
Jeff Boundy, a biologist headquartered in Baton Rouge, is the LDWF's reptile specialist.
As far as public and private lands in St. Landry and Evangeline Parishes, Boundy said hunters can expect to see "cottonmouths anywhere, and copperheads, canebrake rattlesnakes and pygmy rattlers in forests. Coral snakes can be found in upland forests in Evangeline Parish.
"One thing of note about snakebite victims - it's not always a venomous snake," said the biologist. "In fact, it (the snake) is an often misidentified harmless snake, and, conveniently, didn't inject any venom into the victim.
"In reports I've been able to verify, probably four out of ten are harmless snakes," added the biologist. "I've even had emergency room doctors misidentify snakes."
But Boundy is sure that in the instances described above, both were identified properly as venomous.
"I don't have counts on snake bites for Louisiana," admitted Boundy. "Based on the number reported to me, there are probably not more than 50 bites per year - discounting bites to people who keep venomous snakes as pets."
Boundy did confirm that upon snakebite, the snake could be killed for proper identification with some exception.
"It would help for identification except for two things - the "expert" who identifies the snake may misidentify the snake, and killing the snake increases the chance of another bite," said Boundy. "A digital photo would probably work just as well."
Regarding the strength of the toxins coming from the diversity of snakes mentioned above, Boundy remarked that the pit vipers tend to have hemorrhagic venom (blood tissue destruction).
"That of the copperhead is relatively weak, and almost never fatal even without treatment," explained the biologist.
"Cottonmouths and pygmy rattlers have more potent venom, although the pygmies may not inject much," he said. "Canebrake rattlers are dangerous because their venom has a significant amount of neurotoxins as well.
"Coral snake venom is neurotoxic, and tends to show little outward effects, but will shut down the central nervous system."
Boundy said the two hunters were fortunate as not all hospitals in Louisiana have antivenom on supply.
"I recommend calling around," said the biologist.
The extremely warm weather prior to and on opening weekend of squirrel season has a direct corrolation with the rash of snakebites.
But with the recent cool fronts, snakes should be less active, but hunters are still encouraged to be aware of their environment at all times.
Snakebites plague locals in squirrel season