A pair of Russian fishermen have been hospitalized with snake bites after trying to take a selfie with a poisonous viper, a news report said Thursday.
The men were fishing on the Akakul lake in the Chelyabinsk region when one of them felt a sharp prick to his finger as he placed his tackle box on the ground, the Interfax news agency cited local doctor Yevgeny Chulichkov as saying.
Having mistaken the reptile for a common water snake, the second fisherman was also then bitten as he tried to take a photograph with the viper, Chulichkov added.
The men went to a nearby hospital where they were treated with an antivenom and hormones, which may have saved their lives, according to Chulichkov. One of the fisherman has since been released from the hospital, he added.
Vipers are a type of venomous snake that inject poison into their prey via long, hollow fangs. Symptoms of viper bites include swelling, sweating and vomiting.
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