TV snake expert in hospital after deadly king cobra bite

[Mulgaaustralis]

Mark is fine.

 

[Wrightpython]

Why are they always poisonous and if he is such a great herp why has he been bitten so much. Would you normally splint a king cobra bite and do they get to 19 foot?

 

[Elapidae1]

The law of averages

 

[spongebob]

Murdock media. What do you expect - honest reporting?

 

[-Peter]

do they get to 19 foot?

Mate, its in the newspaper so obviously they do.

 

[Skeptic]

To think, all this time I've had 3 king cobra's in my house!! I just took a shovel to them though. Thank god I found out in time!

 

[Venomous_RBB]

I hope the best for him, I was laughing at the King cobra, Coastal picture.
Anyway, as you guys have said, hope makes a full and speedy recovery

 

[Nighthawk]

Many thanks to 'The Sun' for the copious call-outs catchers are going to receive concerning 'king cobras' in backyards - now a subspecies of morelia don't you know. How many more are going to be thoughtlessly slaughtered because of that little stuff up?
Media. Gotta love 'em. But not really.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

some funny comments, so many idiots, so few bullets

 

[longqi]

Why are they always poisonous and if he is such a great herp why has he been bitten so much. Would you normally splint a king cobra bite and do they get to 19 foot?

Lot of discussion about cobra bite treatment at the present time
IMO a pressure bandage will always be better than a splint in slowing the spread on the venom
Others say that localised tissue damage is far greater if pressure bandages are used

With Aussie elapids the actual rate of bites where venom was injected runs between 10 and 20% depending on who you talk to
Most cobras run at 80% or higher
Within 30 to 60 minutes of a cobra bite your cardio vascular system shuts down and CPR is critical with an intensive care unit ready on reaching hospital
So although a pressure bandage may result in more tissue damage near the bite it may also give you an extra few minutes imo

Size varies a lot with location
India seems to have the biggest kings
Aga uses 2 x 4.4metre kings in her show in Penang
They came from Thailand and are extremely impressive animals
Indonesian kings I have seen have never exceeded 4metres [13ft]
We relocated a 3.6 metre female king in Bali
Very powerful slitherer and heart didnt slow down for about 24hrs afterwards although she was fairly easy to guide into a bag
19ft would be an absolute monster

Complacency is why even experts get bitten
Kings are really a very docile snake compared to tigers etc
Because they rarely strike and put up with a lot of handling etc without reaction most times; people forget just how deadly they can be if they do decide to bite instead of just bluff as per usual

 

[Fuscus]

some funny comments, so many idiots, so few bullets

Just remove warning stickers. The local IQ has increased dramatically since I started going out at night and removing any "Do not pee on electrical equipment" stickers

 

[Skelhorn]

Dam, a few people in Australia have King Cobras!

 

[Retic]

I first met Mark more than 30 years ago and really is one of the good guys in this hobby, he makes a living handling fully loaded venomous snakes not mutilated venomoids and because of this there is every chance that every now and then a tiny lapse of concentration will result in a close call. As it happens this turned out to be a dry bite but he was given antivenin purely as a precaution.

Guys,
If any one has actually met Mark he is a really nice guy with a passion for reptiles 2nd to none. This story is marred by some typically inadequate journalism and while I do see the funny side dont lose sight that a great herper could be fighting for his life.