A woman in her sixties had the shock of her life when she answered a knock on the door and found a deadly cobra sitting on her doorstep.
The 66-year-old, who lives in a village near Hangzhou, eastern China, was expecting to find a visitor at the threshold, but not the three-foot snake.
She had been watching TV when she heard the knock. And on opening door to see who was there, the waiting serpent promptly slithered into her home.
Terrified, the woman fled the house, and called the police for help, said Chinese news media Global Times.
There are several species of cobras that can be found in China, including the Chinese cobra, the monocled cobra, and the Indochinese spitting cobra. But the monocled and Indochinese spitting varieties aren't found in Hangzhou.
The Chinese cobra, also known as the Taiwan cobra, is highly venomous, growing up to 5 feet long, though some rare specimens reach over 6 feet.
The snake's venom is toxic and contains a cocktail of neurotoxins, cytotoxins, and cardiotoxins. Bites can lead to severe pain and swelling at the bite site, followed by necrosis, as well as paralysis, difficulty breathing, and sometimes death.
Between 1904 and 1938, there were 593 recorded bites from this snake in Taiwan, 87 percent of which resulted in death.
Prompt medical attention and administration of antivenom significantly reduce the mortality rate, however, so areas with good medical facilities see a much lower death rate. The amount of venom injected during the bite can vary, with more venom usually leading to an increased risk of death. Children, the elderly, and individuals with preexisting health conditions are also at greater risk.
Chinese Cobras are found in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, and agricultural areas, which can lead to encounters with humans. These snakes are primarily diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day.
After the woman called the police, they figured that the snake had likely entered the house to seek shelter from the hot temperatures.
"I think the snake wanted to cool off inside because it was too hot outside. It started at the door and now it's inside," the woman said, according to Global Times.
Eventually firefighters captured the snake and released it back into the wild.
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