Venoumous Snake Bites Young Girl On Her Face At Petting Zoo

A young girl was at a petting zoo in Russia when a snake she was petting bit her on the face.

Five-year-old Viktoria was visiting Russia’s Butterflies Park petting zoo where she interacted with a rufous beaked snake.

In the video that has now gone viral on the internet, the predatory serpent can be seen curling around the girl’s neck during the interaction.

When the child gets distracted by the person shooting the video, the reptile suddenly takes a strike at the child. The snake bit the girl on her face. She was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

The child was given an anti-venom jab and was reported to be in stable condition.

According to authorities, Little Viktoria was bit by a mildly venomous breed that hails from East Africa. Its bite is no stronger than the prick of a syringe. The child received a facial bandage for her injuries.

"We called an ambulance and took the child to the hospital to be examined," Viktoria’s father, Vladimir, told wire service East2West. "The zoo staff said that the snake does not attack people at all."

It is unclear why the snake which zoo workers claim had never before attacked anyone decided to strike the child.

Experts say it can be due to what the child ate before handling the snake. Viktoria had reportedly eaten a chicken dinner before interacting with the reptile.

She had also been playing with the petting zoo’s chicks before moving on to the reptiles.

"Snakes are very sensitive to smell," explained reptile expert Ekaterina Uvarova, East2West reported. "If it was hungry and the girl smelled of prey like chicks, this might provoke the snake to bite her."

Another possibility is that the snake must have a panic attack due to "excessive attention" from visitors, Uvarova added.

"An animal that is being touched all the time, which has nowhere to hide and rest, and is in constant stress. It is never good," she said, calling for petting zoos to be banned.

Butterflies Park did not return a request for comment.