NEWS-JOURNAL (Longview, Texas) 16 July 05 Man trimming tree 60 feet above ground bit by snake (Maranda Harris)
A Longview man is recovering in an Arkansas hospital after being bitten by a snake while working near Hope, Ark., on Wednesday.
Ron Coleman, owner of a Gilmer business that trims trees for power line companies, said Fernando Cerna, one of his employees, was trimming a pecan tree when a snake believed to be a timber rattlesnake bit him on the hand.
"There are six men who climb and trim the trees from the top down, and some of them were using a long rope to help Fernando get up the tree," Coleman said. "When he reached the 60-foot mark, the snake popped out and bit him on the left hand, so they lowered him back down immediately and took him to the local hospital."
Cerna was then airlifted to the University Of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock, and he is expected to remain there through the weekend.
"I've never heard of anybody that has ever been bitten 60 feet in the air," Coleman said. "The insurance company had never heard of anything like that either. It was very weird that it happened, but he is in good spirits and doing well."
Coleman said the snake was about four feet long with rattles on its tail and had markings that fit the description of a timber rattlesnake.
William Garvin, supervisor of Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, said rattlesnakes are not known for climbing trees.
"They are almost exclusively terrestrial," Garvin said. "Almost all rattlesnakes just aren't made for that type of activity because they are generally heavy and can't hang on well. It puts them in a dangerous situation."
Garvin said based on his experience, none of the venomous snakes in North America are known for climbing trees.
"That really blows me away," Garvin said. "Rat snakes will climb trees, but our venomous snakes usually stay on the ground."
Man trimming tree 60 feet above ground bit by snake