iStockphoto
Audio By Carbonatix
You have to admire people who go out of their way to help a wild animal that’s seemingly in need of some assistance. However, one guy who tried to come to the aid of a copperhead snake while riding his bike in New Jersey probably regrets his decision to go that route after landing in the hospital with a gruesome injury.
I’ve lived in the northeast region of the United States my entire life, and one of the more underrated aspects of residing in that part of America is the comparative lack of dangerous (and potentially deadly) animals you have to worry about encountering while going about your business.
For example, I don’t need to keep an eye out for alligators when I wade into the weeds in search of one of the many golf balls that have failed to end up where I intended, and I don’t really worry about having to encounter the wide variety of venomous spiders and scorpions that boast a sizeable population in warmer climates.
That’s not to say there’s a total absence of threats; there are plenty of bears to be found in the area, and there are also a couple of types of snakes with the potential to ruin your day in the form of the timber rattlensnake and the northern copperhead.
According to Hackensack Meridian Health, that second species was responsible for an incident that unfolded on a bike path on the Palisades Cliffs in New Jersey earlier this month courtesy of Dan Geiger, a New York City resident who made his way across the Hudson River to take advantage of the trails that overlook that waterway.
Geiger encountered a copperhead in the middle of the pavement while cycling and hopped off his bike to try to move it to a safer area due to concerns someone else might run over it. He pushed it with his water bottle to no avail before making the retroactively ill-advised decision to try to grab it with his right hand before this snake lashed out and chomped down on his index finger.
He surmised the snake was venomous based on how much blood the bite produced and was quickly transported to Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center after paramedics responded to the 911 call that was placed.
Greiger was treated by the toxicology team that rushed to administer an anti-venom via IV (copperhead bites are rarely fatal, but they can lead to necrosis that requires amputation if they aren’t treat in time).
He was forced to spend two nights in the hospital to treat the swelling and bruising that caused his finger to bloat and turn black (you can view a picture of the damage here if you’re feeling brave enough), but he is expected to make a full recovery after being released.