COURIER-MAIL (Brisbane, Australia) 28 November 07 Two-metre taipan turns on Cairns snake wrangler (Peter Michael)
A Cairns snake wrangler is lucky to be alive after being bitten by a 2m taipan - the world's third-most venomous reptile - on an expedition in remote Cape York
Tom Parkin - a wildlife handler at Hartley's Creek Crocodile Farm - is out of a coma and stable in the intensive care unit at Cairns Base Hospital.
He needed nine vials of anti-venene to counteract the bite to his right armpit.
Best mate Brendan Schembri yesterday described the ordeal as the scariest time of his life. "Watching your best mate literally dying beside you when you are miles from anywhere is beyond horrible," he said.
Two-metre taipan turns on Cairns snake