A medical emergency unfolded in rural England after a man got up from his sofa and discovered that a venomous adder had bitten his foot.
What happened?
According to Wales Online, Daniel Case, 45, who runs the bodyboarding and fishing business Salty Fins Kernow, was in his remote cottage on June 25 when he stood from the sofa and felt a sharp pain in his right foot.
Looking down, he saw what he described as a "whopping great adder" attached to the side of his foot.
Case said the realization was not immediate. He told Wales Online, "It took about three or four seconds to compute what had happened - and I looked down - and there [it] was," Case said. He added that the snake was "probably close to a few feet long" and that the bite was "incredibly painful."
His condition deteriorated as the day went on, according to the outlet. After paramedics responded, he was taken to a hospital in Derriford. Roughly six hours after the bite, he received antivenom, but later suffered a seizure, and spent the night undergoing tests including a CT scan and an X-ray.
Only later did Case learn that wildlife rescue services had come to remove the snake from his cottage. "It had gone up onto my sofa and made itself comfy along the back wall between the sofa and the cool walls of the cottage," he told Talk to the Press.
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Why does it matter?
When homes and wildlife habitat overlap, the risks for both people and animals can increase. As BBC Future has reported, many wildlife conflicts are shaped by shared territory, disturbance and surprise contact.
In this case, Case's cottage sits in a valley surrounded by gorse hedges, the kind of natural environment where reptiles can pass through or shelter.
There is also no indication the snake deliberately sought out a person. The bite appears to have happened when Case unknowingly got too close to an animal already using the space as cover.
Checking cool, sheltered spots around your home, especially near doorways, furniture, sheds and dense vegetation, can help you avoid snakes in rural or wildlife-adjacent areas. Case said he later covered windows and doors with heavy fly netting and carefully searched his property after the incident.
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If a snake is spotted indoors or close to a house, experts advise keeping a safe distance and calling trained wildlife rescuers rather than trying to handle it alone. Attempting to move a frightened wild animal can increase the risk of injury.
If a bite does happen, immediate medical care is critical. Symptoms can worsen over hours, even after the initial shock has passed. Calling emergency services, staying as still as possible, and avoiding unnecessary movement can help while waiting for treatment.
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