Out of Africa: BIG DEER Blogger Kills Green Mamba!

BIG DEER has gone global. Blogger Lance Freeland lives in Cameroon Africa, on the Ndop plane in the village of Bangolan (use Google Earth to see Ndop, his house is labeled as Freeland's). He sent this: 

Hi Mike: A few weeks ago I killed a green mamba in the backyard. I thought of you and a piece of advice you might want to pass along.

For over 60 years electric shock has been used as first aid in treating venomous bites and stings in Third World countries. Studies were published regarding snake bites and the use of electrical shock by Guderain and Mueller in the 80's and 90's. Any internal combustion engine (car, quad, lawn mower, generator, weed whip) can be used to provide a shock to the wound site. Another option sportsmen might have is a dog shock collar. 

Just place it on the bite and push the button. Of course this is only something to do while en route to the hospital.

Where I live the hospital is an hour and a half away at best, and then they might not have any anti-venom on hand. Three years ago a friend in the neighboring village of Bambalang used this method on a man who had been bitten by a green mamba while they were en route to the hospital. My friend likely saved the man’s life.—Thanks Lance

P.S. I always look forward to checking your blog--that is when our Internet is fast enough :)

I’ve posted a lot of snake stories but this is the first on the green mamba--thanks Lance for freaking me out with it (and thanks for ridding the world of one less snake/mamba)!

Disclaimer: Lance lives in Africa, where they do what they have to do to survive. If you hunt/fish in an area with a lot of venomous snakes, check with a medical expert to see if he recommends the shock treatment if you or a buddy gets bitten.

Better yet, find a new, less-snaky place to hunt—or do like me and run like hell when you see one of those nasty things! comment  

 

 

Comments
Buddy in South Central Viginia's Gravatar Mike,

Growing up around Natural Bridge Va. we regularly would go out on the weekends and catch all sorts of snakes and sell them to the local zoo in that area. We got a $1.00 per snake back in the 70's. and to us that was good money. Back then I had no qualms about reaching down and grabbing a rattlesnake or copperhead and throwing it into a pillow case or old feed bag.

I guess with age you really do get wiser because now I am with you on the "run like hell part". I've been bitten twice, once when I was burning a brush pile and then while setting in a tree stand. The snake was actually higher up in the tree than I was and I guess I was blocking his descent down the tree. Furtunately neither bite was from a venimous snake and only required a shot of penicilin in case of infection.

I have seen quite a few snakes this year. I guess the exceptionally warmer weather has them out and about so I cautiously look where I am going and carry a 6ft walking stick while checking my trail cams. Now If I could only get rid of all the ticks!
# Posted By Buddy in South Central Viginia | 7/19/10 10:48 AM
Curt's Gravatar 10-4 on the run like hell!
# Posted By Curt | 7/19/10 12:04 PM
Grant's Gravatar I consider myself a bit of a tough guy at times, but when it comes to snakes, hell no!, I am turnin' and burnin'.
# Posted By Grant | 7/19/10 1:20 PM
Cliff's Gravatar Where are the BIG DEER stories? These snake stories are getting old & boring...
# Posted By Cliff | 7/19/10 2:55 PM
Curt's Gravatar Damn, Cliff!
It's July. What have you killed that we haven't discussed since January? Hell, we're just ridin' it out til the next killin' season starts! I'm sure Big Kahuna has put something on the meat pole recently! He kills stuff weekly! Hey, Big Kahuna whatcha got for us?
# Posted By Curt | 7/19/10 3:10 PM
Buddy in South Central Viginia's Gravatar That a boy Curt! The stories will start rolling in as soon a bow season opens.

Food for thought: The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese!
# Posted By Buddy in South Central Viginia | 7/19/10 4:14 PM
Mack's Gravatar Hi Lance,

What about Black Mambas? I have heard all kinds of stories about mambas "Stalking People-prey. Is this true?
# Posted By Mack | 7/19/10 4:28 PM
Buckwheat's Gravatar Antelope hunting can pose a few challenges with those darn rattlers and such. Gotta love the belly crawl while stalking a nice buck, just to ruin it and stand up screaming like a girl as I unload all 10 shots from my .40 cal strapped to me. The hell with warm hunting. Fish!
# Posted By Buckwheat | 7/19/10 5:28 PM
Cliff's Gravatar DAMN CURT, IT'S MONDAY AND I NEED A FIX AND I NEED IT NOW!!! Hunting seasons are stretched to far apart, starting to sweat
and getting dizzy now, GOTTA GO.....
# Posted By Cliff | 7/19/10 10:11 PM
m.t.'s Gravatar Big Snakes
# Posted By m.t. | 7/19/10 10:27 PM
dbaxter's Gravatar If I remember correctly the shock treatment does not work on the venom that attacks the nervous system - neurotoxins ie: coral snake and cobra venom.
# Posted By dbaxter | 7/20/10 1:48 AM
Rodger's Gravatar The good part about coral snakes is that they are non-agressive and have a very small mouth. They don't inject a lot of venom unless they get you by a toe or finger. red and yellow kill a fellow. lol
# Posted By Rodger | 7/20/10 12:06 PM
Mack's Gravatar Correct bbarnett- ER ASAP!
# Posted By Mack | 7/20/10 2:31 PM
Lance's Gravatar Yes in the States the Medical advice is always to get to a hospital asap (I have taken a lot of first aid classes also), but they are almost always close by. Also shock treatment will never be FDA approved because they wont allow it to be tested on people. However it has been proven to help here in Africa on both kinds of venom. There are hundreds of stories of people living days to get to the hospital when they should have been dead in a few hours. The proteins in the toxin are broken down by the electricity, resulting in stray proteins and no longer toxins. In my area we have both the Black and green mambas but I have only seen the one green, and two other rat snakes. Mike to an African the only good snake is one that is dead, chopped up, cremated, and buried 5 feet under the ground. Mack, the mambas are a very aggressive snake. I have heard lots of stories of them stalking people but have never witnessed it.
# Posted By Lance | 7/22/10 7:25 AM