Two-year-old boy bites cobra to death
A two-year-old boy in India reportedly bit a cobra to death after it coiled around his hands.
Multiple outlets, including The Times of India, reported that the boy, identified only by his first name Govinda, was playing at his home in the town of Bettiah when he spotted the snake.
The "ever curious" Govinda threw a piece of brick at it in play. It struck back and coiled itself around his hands, but instead of running or screaming, he did the unexpected.
"When we saw the snake in the child’s hand, everyone rushed towards him, but in the meantime, he already bit the snake, killing it on the spot," his grandmother told local media.
The boy fainted immediately after the incident and was rushed to a primary health care center for initial treatment before being taken to the town's Government Medical College Hospital.
The cobra died from trauma to the head and mouth due to Govinda's bite.
Govinda, meanwhile, was knocked unconscious due to the venom, which was relatively mild but not enough to be fatal.
"Timely treatment saved Govinda's life," the doctors said.
The child was already in stable condition and has been receiving treatment.
The incident, meanwhile, reminded family members of the Hindu mythology. The deity Krishna, who has Govinda as one of his epithets, subdued the serpent king Kaliya for polluting the Yamuna River.
India is home to over 300 species of snakes, including 60 highly venomous ones.
The Indian cobra is among the so-called "big four" species (alongside Russell's viper, common krait, and saw-scaled viper,) causing the most snakebites (not snakebite deaths) in the country.
