Vila Real de Santo António firemen received a surprising call this morning “a foreigner has been bitten by a snake.”
Indeed he had been, after the large reptile had been disturbed in vegetation under a prefab in Caliço near Vila Nova de Cacela and attacked a 60-year-old tourist staying at the tourist development.
The unidentified 1.2 metre snake at first was treated as venomous and the man, who had been bitten twice in both hands, was rushed to hospital by the emergency team while firefighters tried to trap the slippery customer, finally using what they described as ‘an improvised device’ to nab the snake without injuring it. This involved using a pole from a pool cleaning net and some nylon rope, both deftly wielded by fireman, Douglas Siqueira.
Once theis mission was completed, the firemen handed the reptile to staff at the Institute of Nature and Forest Conservation.
The firefighters warned that, between March and October, snakes, like other reptiles "are active. There are not many poisonous species in Portugal, but we must always be careful because when they feel threatened, they will attack."
Snakes should not be persecuted as they are good at pest control, they eat many rodents, and hence are “very important from the ecological point of view and must be preserved.”
The fire service also advises that "when you find such an animal, don’t approach it and ask for help (112) so that it can be removed to a safe place."
