This is why a venomous snake with its head cut off can still bite people to death

The clip recorded the terrifying reflexes of a highly venomous rattlesnake after its head was cut off, making many witnesses shudder.

The clip, shared on social network Reddit, shows a rattlesnake with its head cut off . The owner of the clip said he discovered the snake in his garden and used a shovel to cut off the snake's head because he was worried that the animal could pose a danger to family members.

It is worth mentioning that after the head was cut off, the snake's body continued to wiggle without dying completely. Even when the snake's body accidentally touched the severed head, the head immediately launched a deadly bite, causing the snake's body to struggle in pain.

The clip went viral on Reddit before being shared across multiple social media platforms. Many netizens said they were shocked and horrified by the scene in the clip.

"It's horrible. Perhaps the snake's head had a natural reflex when something else touched it, so it immediately launched such a terrifying bite. If anyone accidentally touched the snake's head in this case, they could be bitten to death by the animal ," a Reddit user commented.

Yang Hong Chang, a Taiwanese snake expert who has spent more than 40 years studying venomous snakes, said all reptiles can still function for more than an hour after losing part of their body or even just their head.

" When a snake loses its head, its body functions basically stop, but there are still some natural reflex actions , " said Yang Hong Chang . "This means the snake can bite and inject venom even when only its head remains . "

Mr. Yang said that the venom glands of venomous snakes are located entirely in the snake's head, so when the snake's head is cut off, the venom glands can still function and pump venom through the fangs as usual.

Even though its head is cut off, the snake can still inject venom through its fangs as usual. (Image cut from clip).

In fact, there have been many cases where venomous snakes still bite people after their heads have been cut off, especially those who carelessly touch the snake's head because they think the animal is dead.

For example, in 2018, a chef surnamed Pang living in Foshan City (Guangdong Province, China) beheaded an Indochinese cobra to prepare a dish. While holding the head to throw it in the trash, Pang was suddenly bitten on the hand by the snake's head. Thinking that the snake was dead and the bite was not dangerous, Pang did not go to the hospital and died shortly thereafter. It is known that the snake had been beheaded 20 minutes earlier.

In 2020, a man in Texas (USA) cut off the head of a rattlesnake when he saw the animal crawling into his house. When he reached out to pick up the snake to throw it away, the man was bitten by the severed head. The man was then taken to the hospital in critical condition, but was fortunately saved by doctors after a week of special care.

The above clip is proof that a venomous snake with its head cut off can still bite people to death, so everyone needs to be vigilant and absolutely do not hold, grasp or touch the head of a venomous snake even if the head has been cut off from the body.