Snake Expert Bitten by King Cobra

[pureshark1980]

Anyone know who Mark Oshea is? I guess he was bitten by a king cobra by accident while he was feeding it an almost died yesterday.

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[rmfsnakes32]

Yikes all the more reason I am convinced venomus snakes should not be kept as pets! I will admit thethey are beautiful snakes my personal opinion I dont judge those that have venomus snakes

[SnakeyJay]

One of the accepted risks for those that choose to work with "hots"... Atleast he pulled through.

[Wildside]

Doesn't surprise me...

[StudentoReptile]

Yikes all the more reason I am convinced venomus snakes should not be kept as pets!snakes

Most venomous keepers would agree with that statement. mainly that they do not view their wards as "pets."

[Will0W783]

Exactly, StudentoReptile....my hots are not "pets." They cannot be considered pets....it is a unique relationship that one must have to venomous snakes in a collection. They are wild animals, and as such are never tame like a dog or cat, or even like a python/boa. I am quite attached to most of my venomous snakes, and I would grieve them if they passed away or if I had to part with them for any reason; however, they are not my "pet." They are wild, zoological specimens that I am responsible for caring for, and they bring me much enjoyment.

Any venomous keeper that refers to the snakes as their "pets" is probably not giving them the respect they deserve. In some cases, we might use the pet term in talking to a non-reptile person to help them understand, but even in those cases I think it's best to never call a venomous snake a pet, since it is not.

[iBaman]

18 ft?!?!!? holy wow!

[Squirtle]

This is what I fear happening to ViperKeeper after just seconds of watching his videos..

[SSSSnakes]

Mark Oshea is a very experienced and knowledgeable handler, but I do not not believe accidents happen when handling venomous snakes, only mistakes. It is said and I do believe that if you deal with venomous snakes, it is not if you are going to get bit, but when. Unfortunately we all make mistakes.

[Rogue628]

Truer words have never been spoken. Venomous are NOT pets, never will be. I'd love to have the chance to work with them one day, but I don't want to keep them, only help so I can learn and observe.

I rarely watch Mark, but mistakes happen.

Squirtle, I know VP's had a couple of dry bites, and I believe he's said he's actually been envenomated (sp?) once in his 30 plus years of keeping hots. He also keeps a few vials of anti venom because he has so many diverse species of hots...but even he admits it's only enough to help him make it to the hospital to get more. (I can find that video if you want to see it...he talks alot about his animals and keeping them...it was more like an interview).

[stevenrudge]

Mark Oshea is a very experienced and knowledgeable handler, but I do not not believe accidents happen when handling venomous snakes, only mistakes. It is said and I do believe that if you deal with venomous snakes, it is not if you are going to get bit, but when. Unfortunately we all make mistakes.l've known Mark since l was about 8 years old,l'm 47 now,he is a bit older than me his mum was a school teacher at my junior school she found out about my interest in snakes and introduced us,in Europe Mark is quite famous,he is a scientist,writes books, and has his own tv show on Discovery channel and still lives about 10 from me.
he will be fine,its the snake that needs to worry

[Robyn@SYR]

Hope he has a full recovery!

[MoreliAddict]

This is what I fear happening to ViperKeeper after just seconds of watching his videos..
He's such a pro though. Love watching his stuff. lol

[SSSSnakes]

He's such a pro though. Love watching his stuff. lol

Professional or not, one mistake and the snake takes advantage of that and your in trouble. There is no excuse for what is considered careless handling. Risking your life because you think you are that good is foolish.

[pureshark1980]

Any updates on how he is doing now? Is he still in the hospital?

I was bitten by a rattle snake at my lake house in Texas when I was 15, man, it was scary. I was in the hospital for 4 days.

[Squirtle]

This video, out of his 447 videos, had me scared for ViperKeeper the whole 22 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPqpQ_rsyzw&feature=plcp

Not sure if the video will work or not, but it's a recent video about his Green Mamba.

[shaunyboy]

i'm glad Mark pulled through

Luke Yeoman of The Cobra Sactuary UK was not so lucky,he died of a heart attack at the scene of his bite

below is a link to the story on Lukes death

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=king+cobra+sanctuary+uk&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CFAQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-news%2Fbrit-snake-fan-killed-by-king-138387&ei=ctY0ULHmG5KT0QXn-YCoBg&usg=AFQjCNHRe28v0RvUq0ZGfbYTfLiAD1dqZQ

cheers shaun

P.S.Squirtle,your video's not working pal