Snake bites man on Alligator Alley; he's in stable condition at hospital

Though officials initially suspected it was a pit viper, they later determined it was a water moccasin.

Good thing it wasn't a 'pit viper'.

A water moccasin bit a 29-year-old man on Alligator Alley. He and his girlfriend snapped a picture of it, enabling officials to identify it.

A water moccasin bit a 29-year-old man on Alligator Alley. He and his girlfriend… (Courtesy of Broward Sheriff…)
April 12, 2014|By Kate Jacobson, Sun Sentinel

A man was bitten by a snake Saturday night when he and his girlfriend pulled over on the side of Alligator Alley to look at an alligator, a fire rescue official said.

The man, 29, pulled over his car on the roadway just after 7 p.m. when he and his girlfriend thought they saw an alligator, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said. The couple was just before the Broward County boundary line, traveling eastbound, Jachles said.

They got out of the car to get a better view of the alligator, but the man unknowingly had stepped on a water moccasin that was on the side of the road. The snake bit him in the foot, Jachles said.

The couple snapped a picture of the snake. Though officials initially suspected it was a pit viper, they later determined it was a water moccasin.

First responders treated him on the scene and he was airlifted to the Cleveland Clinic in Weston for further care, Jachles said.

Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue's Venom Response Team assisted Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, Jachles said.

The man was in stable condition, Jachles said.

Original article here.

Ha! Water and pit are sort of conflicting words - let's rename them flooded pit vipers.

Taxonomically, water moccassins are a species of pit viper, since they're part of the Crotalinae sub-family. The "pit" part of the name isn't where they're found, but a descriptor; pit vipers have heat pits.