Tip: it’s important to note that in remote parts of Costa Rica your best chance of finding anti-venom for a snake bite is at a veterinarian clinic, even for bites that effect humans. Most CCSS medical clinics in remote locations do not have anti-venom.

Fer-de-lance pit vipers, known as terciopelos in Costa Rica, are wreaking havoc in many rural areas across the country. Two children are the latest victims of attacks by these dangerous ophidians, which are particularly excitable at the height of Costa Rica’s torrential rainy season.

A ten-year old boy from the Talamanca region was playing in the backyard of his own home in Volcancito del Valle de La Estrella, province of Limon, when a fer-de-lance struck out at him. The snake delivered a nasty bite to the boy’s left cheek.

Girlenne Cruz, the boy’s mother, explained to daily newspaper La Teja that taking her son to the hospital was an ordeal as their home is located in a very remote area. Neighbors wrapped the boy in a hammock and walked five kilometers through thick vegetation and mountainous terrain. They eventually made their way to the community of Boca Coen, where a car took the boy to Vesta with the hope of finding an ambulance to take him to the Tony Facio Hospital in downtown Limon. Unfortunately, the sole ambulance and paramedic team in this small and remote community was responding to another emergency at the time.

Although the boy was bitten around 1:30 pm, he did not reach the hospital until 4:00 pm. Carlos Vega, assistant director of the Tony Facio Hospital explained that by the time the boy reached the hospital, he had suffered major internal hemorrhaging due to the powerful fer-de-lance’s venom and its anticoagulant properties. The boy was pronounced dead on arrival.

Confused and Excitable Serpents

The beginning of the green season, also known as “invierno” or winter in Costa Rica, is an uncomfortable time of the year for the skittish Bothrops asper. An overabundance of food in the form of frogs and toads, combined with the increased presence by humans engaged in agricultural activities, tends to overwhelm fer-de-lances. This is also the peak time for pit vipers to hatch.

Snakes are not particularly bright and are likely to react aggressively in just about any situation. Fer-de-lances are notorious for their propensity to strike; each year there are about 550 hospital emergencies in Costa Rica caused by terciopelo attacks -they represent more than 70 percent of all snake bites in our country.

The fer-de-lance pit viper is feared across Central America and southern Mexico. It can easily grow to two meters in length and its venom is extremely toxic. Juveniles are arboreal and, much to the dismay of coffee pickers, enjoy hiding in the leafy branches of mature coffee plants. Young fer-de-lances have a yellow-tipped tail that serves to catch the attention of lizards and frogs. As these snakes grow, they become terrestrial and their appetite tends to favor possums and even birds. They also become adept at camouflage, hiding their dark-brown scales on the forest grounds.

A Young Girl Saved by Antivenom Serum

Hours after the unfortunate death of the boy from Valle de la Estrella, an 11-year old girl from the town of Rio Grande in Atenas, province of Alajuela, was struck by a fer-de-lance. She was bit in her ankle and immediately rushed to the Children’s Hospital in San Jose, where she received ten vials of ophidian antivenom. Her condition vastly improved and was stable within an hour.

Mahmood Sasa, a scientific researcher from the renowned Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica explains that fer-de-lance bites are often fatal to humans. Depending on the amount of venom delivered and the condition of the victim, fer-de-lance bites cause intense pain, shock, internal bleeding, tissue degradation and necrosis, failure of vital organs, and death.

The Clodomiro Picado Institute is known around the world for its first-class production of antivenom serums and its leading ophidian research. Costa Rica has been an important source for antivenom serums against the effects of coral snake bites for many decades. With regard to the recent spike in fer-de-lance attacks, Mahmood Sasa mentioned that they are purely accidental; their limited intellectual capacity prevents them from reacting in ways other than striking. Costa Rica’s snake population has thrived in recent decades due to reforestation and nature conservation efforts; it is not unreasonable to think that fer-de-lance attacks will probably continue to rise in the future.