Rylee Kirk

By Rylee Kirk

Aug. 16, 2025

A hiker in a Tennessee state park died after picking up a rattlesnake that bit him in what was a rare fatality arising from a snake bite, the authorities said on Friday.

The hiker, a man who was not publicly identified, was in Savage Gulf State Park in Gruetli-Laager, Tenn., around 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, Matthew Griffith, director for the Grundy County Emergency Association, said in an email.

A witness told officials that the hiker had picked up a snake, which was believed to be a timber rattlesnake, and was bitten on a hand, Mr. Griffith said. It was not clear why the hiker picked up the snake.

The hiker was a half mile along a trail. Emergency medical workers arrived and gave him CPR before transferring him to a hospital, where he died, Mr. Griffith said.

Thousands of people in the United States are bitten by venomous snakes each year, but only about five bites annually prove to be fatal, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. More people would die if they did not seek medical care, the agency said.

It is believed the man’s death was caused by an allergic reaction, but full details have yet to be released, Mr. Griffith said.

An allergy to snake venom can be similar to a bee sting allergy, said William Sutton, a professor at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Tennessee State University who studies and works with snakes.

He said a bite could send someone into anaphylaxis, which is a narrowing of the airways and lowering of blood pressure, within minutes.

“Some people just may be plain allergic to snake venom,” Professor Sutton said.

Typically, venomous snakes in the United States have a more hemotoxic venom, Professor Sutton said. This means the venom breaks down blood cells.

In Australia and other countries, snakes have neurotoxins in their venom, which is more fatal. Victims often have just an hour to seek medical care, he said.

A snake perceives humans as predators, and it generally would have to expend too much of its venom to make it worth biting a human, he said.

“Generally, if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you,” Professor Sutton said. “They don’t really want to have to bite you.”

Timber rattlesnakes are usually gray, with a chevron pattern, and black near their rattle. They can be two to five feet long and can be found from Florida to New York, in a variety of habitats.

Savage Gulf State Park, which is about 65 miles north of Chattanooga, is near Gruetli-Laager, which was originally two separate communities founded by Swiss immigrants and eventually combined into a single city.

The 19,000-acre park is in the Cumberland Plateau, also known as the Appalachian Plateau, a rugged area with hardwood trees where it is common to find snakes, Professor Sutton said.

Representatives for the park could not be immediately reached on Saturday.

It is important to keep your eyes on the trail and the edges of the trail while hiking, Professor Sutton said.

“If you do come across a snake, give it a wide berth,” he said.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5763682&forum_id=2...id#49194425)