It all happened in a flash: attacked by a cobra in India, an 8 year old child bites it to defend himself... and kills it

Deepak, an 8-year-old boy, was playing in his backyard in Pandarpadh, in India's central Chhattisgarh region, when he was attacked by an adult cobra, reports the Daily Mail. The snake wrapped itself around his arm and sank its fangs into Deepak's flesh. The child tried to quickly shake his arm away from the snake, but he was unable to free himself from the animal. "The snake wrapped itself around my hand and bit me. I was in a lot of pain," Deepak told the New Indian Express.

 

Deepak then decided to bite it back and managed to kill it. "As the reptile did not move when I tried to shake it, I bit it hard twice. It all happened in a flash," he added. Fortunately, the snake never injected its venom into his arm and the little boy made it out alive.

Snake bites are common in India. According to a new study released recently, more than 85% of deaths in 2019 are from snakebites. 

Following the snake bite, Deepak's parents rushed him to a nearby medical center. The child was kept under observation to make sure he would recover. After examining his wound, doctors discovered that he had suffered a "dry bite", which means that the cobra did not release any venom. As a result, Deepak showed no symptoms and recovered quickly.

Dry bites are often administered by adult snakes that have complete control over the deployment of venom from their glands. They do this to warn or scare animals, without killing them. Snakes usually use venom to kill their prey, or when fighting dangerous predators.