/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/D2O6VEQDCVHLIKMVD74P7QQS7M.jpg){kind=small}
A fatal snake bite in a Costa Rican jungle, Betty Python, conservation activist
Pete Python, kiwi conservation activist, was bitten by a highly venomous snake in Costa Rica. The attached photo
New Zealand conservationist Pete Python was bitten by a deadly snake while working in a Costa Rica forest.
Bethune is the nonprofit Earthrace Foundation, which does environmental conservation missions, such as tracking poaching and mining.
Earthrise spokeswoman Larissa Kilit said Python was bitten in a hurry by what is believed to be a highly venomous Vir de Lance snake, which is now in Golfito Hospital in Costa Rica.
The sting left the defender with severe swelling and “the worst pain I’ve had”.
Kellett said that one bite of the Ver de Lance snakes contained enough venom to kill 32 people.
Kilit said the snake bit a Python while it was doing conservation work in a forest on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.
She said that Python had to crawl out of the woods and sail several waterfalls while his condition deteriorated.
She said, “He said he used to run on his ass once.”
“During the last hundreds of meters, he was carried because he was in severe pain.”
She added that Zodiac transported the Kiwi conservation activist to Earthrace and took her to the hospital in Golfito Bay.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/F3JMBNEN2P37OMSGANQHFQUKUY.jpg)
“We don’t know if he’s going to be okay. He’s in the best care he can get. He’s in excruciating pain. His voice was pounding a lot. He wasn’t speaking as he used to.”
She added that Biton is under close supervision of the medical staff and may be transferred to another hospital to obtain specialized care.
New Zealand-based Kellett wasn’t sure what kind of work he was doing, but he guessed he was patrolling in search of illegal gold miners, which includes following paths to find miners.
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/YWJBXETOG3ZRJ4WWCNFTHGFROU.jpg)
“You get in. You get your backpack and your gear to last for a few days. It’s harsh conditions. You look for paths to see where the gold miners set up their little camp. They put chemicals in the waterways to do the actual mining.”
Kellett said she spoke to Python on Christmas Day. She then received a WhatsApp message from a member of the Bethune crew informing them that their captain had been bitten by a snake.
“It happened today. We haven’t gone out of the woods.”