14-Foot-Long Deadly Snake Bites 60-Year-Old Man Who Wrapped Reptile Around Neck

A 60-year-old man in India died after being bitten by a deadly snake he had wrapped around his neck.

The man had reportedly found the 14-foot-long king cobra at a paddy field in his village in the eastern state of Assam on Wednesday. He immediately caught the venomous reptile and wrapped it around his neck to display it to the people living in the area. He then started dancing with the king cobra while holding it inappropriately, India Today reported.

The snake reacted by biting the man. The people, who had surrounded the man and were watching him display the reptile, caught the incident on their mobile phones. According to reports, the man was rushed to a hospital after he was bitten; however, the doctors declared him brought dead. The victim was identified as Raghunandan Bhumij, East Mojo reported.

Later, a team from the forest department arrived at the scene and rescued the snake. The reptile was released in the jungle area. It remains unclear if the man had any previous experience in handling snakes.

King cobra is the world’s largest venomous snake, and is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia. The snake can grow up to a length of 18 feet long. According to Britannica, the king cobra is an active hunter and preys almost exclusively on other snakes. They are found in forests and paddy fields through which they sometimes enter human areas.

In August, a woman died of a snake bite after she wrapped the reptile around her neck to perform a religious ritual. The woman believed the reptile was the messenger of a Hindu deity. She was leaving her house to attend a religious ceremony when she spotted the snake. The woman picked up the huge snake and wrapped it around her neck before attending the ceremony. The reptile suddenly bit the woman several times, following which she fell unconscious with the snake still coiled around her neck. A local sorcerer arrived and said he would be able to revive her. However, he failed and the woman was declared dead.