Snake charmer uses rum remedy
A MAN who was bitten on the penis by a deadly snake yesterday told how he used a cold rum can to soothe the pain while he rang his mother to say a final goodbye.
"I thought I was gone," Cairns carpenter Daryl Zutt said of his now notorious encounter with a brown snake during a roadside toilet stop in remote Far North Queensland.
"I thought, ‘Maybe, this is it. Maybe, I’m gonna cark it’."
When The Cairns Post revealed details of the bizarre encounter two weeks ago, the story attracted headlines worldwide.
But the identity of the victim remained unknown until yesterday when Daryl Zutt came forward to tell how the brown snake took a near-fatal swipe as he relieved himself near Laura, 300km northwest of Cairns, on April 27.
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Mr Zutt and his mates were returning from a pig-hunting and fishing trip near Musgrave Station.
"I squatted down … I reckon I must’ve nearly sat on his head," he said.
"As soon as I felt it, I yelled.
"It really hurt.
"When it happened, I knew in the back of my mind it was a snake.
"I seen him coming out from between my legs."
He said he tried to remain calm as he inspected the damage.
"He got me about halfway down," he said. "I saw fang marks and a bit of blood come out."
Mr Zutt saw the snake, which he said looked like an eastern brown, slither under rocks.
He alerted his mate and they drove to Lakeland to seek medical help.
His friend called triple-0 to advise authorities of the bite.
When he arrived at Lakeland, emergency services volunteers were waiting to help him.
"I was nauseous and had pains in the stomach," Mr Zutt said.
"I couldn’t talk properly.
"I was tongue-tied."
A paramedic treated Mr Zutt and took him to Cooktown Hospital.
After a series of blood and urine tests, which confirmed he was not envenomated, he was discharged.
He praised all staff who helped him, especially Dr Natasha Coventry and the hospital’s nurses.
Mr Zutt said he had copped a ribbing from his mates but they knew full well "they could’ve been attending my funeral".
"They’ve been saying things like ‘It was a trouser snake fight’ and ‘He (the snake) saw the competition and got scared’," he said.
"Once they knew I was right, the jokes came out."
He said he would still venture to the outback but there would be no more "running through the bush barefoot and pig-hunting".
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Tongue-tied: Cairns carpenter Daryl Zutt tells of his fears and pain after being bitten on the penis by a snake while answering a call of nature in the bush.
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