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Kiwi conservationist Pete Bethune has been bitten by a highly venomous snake in Costa Rica. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand conservationist Pete Bethune was bitten by a deadly snake while working in a jungle in Costa Rica.
Bethune is the founder of the nonprofit Earthrace, which conducts conservation missions, such as tracking illegal fishing and mining.
Earthrace spokeswoman Larisa Kellett said that Bethune had been bitten on the calf by what is believed to be the highly venomous Fer-de-lance snake and is now being held at Costa Rica’s Golfito Hospital.
The bite left the conservationist with extreme swelling and the “worst pain he’s ever had.”
Kellett said a single fer-de-lance snake bite has enough venom to kill 32 people.
The snake bit Bethune while she was doing conservation work in a jungle on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Kellett said.
Bethune had to crawl out of the jungle, navigating several waterfalls as her condition worsened, she said.
“He said he was dragging his butt at one point,” he said.
“For the last few hundred meters they took him because he was in extreme pain.”
The Kiwi conservationist was transferred by the Zodiac to Earthrace and taken to the hospital in Golfito Bay, he said.
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“We don’t know if he will be okay. He is in the best possible care. He is in excruciating pain. His voice was dragging a lot.
Bethune is under the close supervision of medical staff and could be transferred to another hospital to access specialized care, he said.
New Zealand-based Kellett wasn’t sure what kind of work he was doing, but he assumed he was patrolling for illegal gold miners, which involves following trails to find the miners.
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“You go in there. You get your backpack and gear to last you a few days. It’s tough conditions. You look for trails to see where the gold miners have set up their little camp. They put chemicals in the waterways to do the mining.”
Kellett said he spoke to Bethune on Christmas Day. He then received a WhatsApp message from one of Bethune’s crew members informing him that their captain had been bitten by a snake.
“It happened today. We are not out of the woods.”
