A two-year-old boy in Bettiah, West Champaran, India, has survived a venomous cobra attack after biting the snake to death when it coiled itself tightly around his hands.
The boy, identified as Govinda Kumar, son of Sunil Sah, was playing outside his home in Bankatwa village under Majhaulia block on Friday afternoon, 25 July, when the encounter occurred.
Witnesses said Govinda had thrown stones at the reptile, prompting it to retaliate by wrapping itself around his tiny hands. In an instinctive act of self-defence, he sank his teeth into the snake’s head and mouth, killing it instantly.
“When we saw the snake in the child’s hand, everyone ran towards him, but by then he had already bitten it, killing it on the spot,” his grandmother, Mateshwari Devi, recounted.
The toddler immediately lost consciousness due to the venom’s effect and was rushed to the local primary health centre before being transferred to Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH), Bettiah. Doctors described the case as “highly unusual”.
According to the medical team, the snake died from trauma inflicted by the child’s bite, while the venom’s impact on Govinda was not strong enough to be fatal.
“Timely medical attention saved Govinda’s life,” doctors at GMCH stated. “His condition is stable, and he remains under observation with continuous treatment,” added Dr Saurabh Kumar.
