Hundreds of snakes roam freely in the chaos left by the heavy rains. As severe flooding hit the Guangxi region of southern China following rain associated with Typhoon Maysak, local media reported that snakes escaped from a breeding farm in Hengzhou after enclosures were damaged by the rains.
On the morning of Monday, July 6, 800 to 900 snakes were reported to have escaped after a cattle farm was washed away, Wu Zhi, head of the local village committee, was quoted as saying by state media Red Star News.
Video published by state media BJ News showed residents trying to catch some of them skimming the surface of the water with nets or their bare hands. Others try to scare them away by hitting the water with sticks.
Residents treated for snake bites
Speaking to BJ News, a resident who said he was bitten by a hospitalized snake claims he saw “five or six” snakes. He claims that he was bitten by a cobra. Speaking to BJ News, the doctor claims to have treated several patients who were bitten by snakes after the typhoon.
The city of Hengzhou “immediately strengthened its reserves of medical resources and urgently increased antivenom supplies” at a local hospital, state television CCTV reported. According to local media, most snakes in the wild are not dangerous.
Animals rescued from flood-damaged zoo
The death toll from devastating floods in the region rose to 39 dead and nine missing this Thursday, July 9, authorities said. Across the region, flooding destroyed homes, washed away animals and cars, and caused a spectacular dam failure at a reservoir near the town of Liulan.
In Guigang, a zoo was also damaged by flooding. On Wednesday, July 8, he asked for the public’s help in finding some of the escaped residents, explaining that some enclosures had been damaged by “continuous heavy rainfall.”
The list of missing animals is reminiscent of the fauna of Noah’s Ark: two zebras, a zebu, two donkeys, two ostriches, two emus, five mouflons, three alpacas, as well as two North American raccoons, nine pygmy pigs, almost a dozen macaws, 30 peacocks… They can be “scared and potentially aggressive,” the zoo emphasizes, which asks residents not to try to catch them. or approach them.
Original article published on BFMTV.com.