A summer walk in rural France took a painful and highly unusual turn for Manon Aubry, co-chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament, who said she was hospitalized after accidentally stepping on a viper.
According to Politico, Aubry said the bite happened in France's Lot region after she stepped on the snake. She later shared an Instagram photo from her hospital bed, saying she posted it in hopes of preventing questions about how she was doing.
France usually records about 150 similar venomous snake bites a year, Aubry said, and only two serious cases annually.
A few days after the bite, she was up and moving around again.
Aubry told reporters: "I was unlucky." Encountering the animal was extremely rare. "At the hospital where I was treated, they told me they hadn't seen one in 10 years," she added.
In her Instagram post, the 36-year-old noted that she would have to cancel some events and attend others while on one foot. As one person commented on the post, "And stay strong against vipers of all kinds."
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
Wildlife encounters can go wrong fast, whether it's a snake on a trail or a traveler getting too close to another animal. As human development encroaches on wildlife habitat, encounters like this can become even more common.
These stories from France, Thailand, and Florida show how quickly a day outdoors can turn into a painful emergency.
• A woman's interaction with a warthog quickly turned into an attack during a wildlife encounter.
• In Florida's Everglades National Park, tourists had a terrifying encounter with an alligator.
• In Thailand, travelers learned wild monkeys demand caution after a close-range encounter.
Aubry's case was unusually rare. Still, each story reminds us that wild animals can cause serious injuries in seconds, even in what seems like a safe outdoor area.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
