PENNSYLVANIA Bitten rattlesnake hunter faces long road to recovery

About 800 people are bitten by rattlers each year in the United States.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Rattlesnake hunting has been on the increase in Pennsylvania in recent years, apparently fueled by the popularity of nature shows, gaming officials said.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission issued more than 900 permits to catch snakes this year, up from 700 last year and about 600 in recent years, said Kathy Durge, a herpetologist with the commission.
She said the popularity of nature shows on "Animal Planet" and other television networks and the danger factor of snakes likely are responsible for the increase.
And while rare, attacks by rattlers can be dangerous, as Matt Wilson recently discovered.
Wilson, 50, of Smethport, McKean County, was bitten in the hand in June while hunting with his wife, Paula. He faces six months of physical therapy to recover and has been told another bite would probably kill him, so he plans to pursue the slithery creatures with a camera from now on.
"Some people chase tornadoes or climb cliffs or sky-dive. Our thing is rattlesnakes," Wilson said.
Snakes can only be hunted between mid-June and the end of July. Hunters pay $5 for a permit and report to the commission on the animals they kill.
The commission tracks data about the snakes to make sure their numbers don't decline to the point of being endangered, Durge said. Timber rattlers are ranked one step above threatened. Hunters can't keep more than one dead or living timber rattlesnake per season.
Bite statistics
About 800 people are bitten by rattlers in the United States annually, but only one or two people die. One person has died of a snake or lizard bite in the past two years in Pennsylvania, though state health department records don't identify the animal in the case.
The Wilsons had been hunting snakes for more than five years and were aware of the risks.
Wilson, an elementary school teacher, was wearing Kevlar-lined cowhide gloves when he took a timber rattler from a bag to document June 14. He and Paula had caught it near Parker Dam State Park in Clearfield County.
Wilson opted not to use tongs on the snake because he didn't want to injure it. Instead, he grabbed it several inches behind its head. The snake twisted and bit, its fang piercing the glove. Wilson was surprised because he'd caught some 50 to 60 snakes using the gloves.
Wilson used a special extractor to remove the venom, but such devices are believed to be effective only about one-third of the time.
He soon began to feel a tingling sensation over his body and a ringing in his ears. He and Paula got back to his truck and drove to a nearby house to call for help. He was flown by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital and given anti-venom.
"I felt like I was going to die," said Wilson. "I didn't want to tell my wife that, but I was pretty sure."
He'd received a moderate to severe dose of venom, resulting in a wide black and blue swath of swollen tissue stretching up his arm and down his chest to his hip.
Wilson likely would not have died from the bite but he could have lost his fingers if he didn't get treatment, said Dr. Daniel Brooks, the UPMC medical toxicologist who treated him.
"There are people out there who get permits to do this for a thrill, but they don't know what they're doing. I knew what I was doing, and I still got bitten," Wilson said. "I want them to think about how I almost became a statistic."