Hiker Dies From Snakebite in Tennessee State Park

A hiker in Tennessee passed away late last week after suffering a snakebite a half-mile into a local trail.

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A timber rattlesnake showing its fangs (Photo: McDonald Wildlife Photography Inc. / The Image Bank via Getty)

A hiker is dead after suffering a snakebite in a state park in Tennessee last week, local emergency management officials said.

At about 12:30 p.m. on August 8, emergency medical personnel received a call to an incident in Savage Gulf State Park, a 19,000-acre park in middle Tennessee’s Grundy County. When rescuers arrived, Chattanooga’s ABC affiliate Channel 9 reported, they found the hiker, who had already been bitten, a half-mile down the trail. Rescuers initiated CPR, but the hiker later died from his injuries at the hospital.

Matt Griffith of the Grundy County Emergency Agency told Channel 9 that the hiker had apparently picked up the snake, which then bit him on the hand.

“The family of the individual will be in our thoughts and prayers,” Griffith told the station. “As always it’s strongly recommended to have some kind of first-aid supplies while enjoying outdoor recreational activities and be mindful of wildlife and the dangers that some wildlife may pose.”

While Tennessee is home to four different species of venomous snakes, Griffith said that authorities suspect that the man was bitten by a timber rattler.

Bites are uncommon, but touching snakes can up the risk.

Suffering a venomous snakebite is not a common experience for hikers in the U.S. Across the country, an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people suffer bites every year, with just five of those dying. For those who do suffer bites, approaching or handling the animal is a major risk factor: One study from West Virginia estimated that two-thirds of the people who sought help for snakebite at one clinic had picked up, attacked, or otherwise provoked the animal.

Misinformation about how to treat snakebites is still common in outdoor recreation circles as well—though there’s no evidence to suggest that it factored into last week’s incident. Many stores still stock snakebite kits consisting of a razor blade for removing body hair around the bite and a suction cup or plunger for “sucking out” the venom. In reality, experts say there’s no evidence that such kits buy hikers more time. Instead, hikers who suffer a bite should keep their bitten limb elevated if possible, call for help and make their way to a hospital where they can receive antivenin.