Local

11-year-old girl bitten by rattlesnake while camping at Blue Spring State Park

An 11-year-old girl is recovering in an intensive care unit after she was bitten by a rattlesnake while visiting Blue Spring State Park.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Abigail Bajek's mother sent Channel 9 pictures of the bite on her daughter's foot. She also took a picture of the pygmy rattlesnake that bit Abigail Sunday. 

Doctors at AdventHealth for Children in Orlando gave Abigail several rounds of antivenin, and she is in good spirits, her mother said.  
"It's very sad to hear that anyone is bitten by a snake," said Jim Ames, a visitor to the park. "Sometimes you just don't know they're there."
Pygmy rattlesnakes are venomous and more active this time of year, wildlife officials said. They are common in the southeastern United States. They're easily camouflaged and often hard to spot. 
Officials said while a bite from a Pygmy rattlesnake could be deadly under certain cicrumstances, there's never been a death recorded in Florida from a bite. 

                                        DOWNLOAD: Free WFTV News & Weather Apps

                                  Not near a TV? Click here to watch WFTV newscasts live

                                                         Watch Live: Doppler 9 HD

0