Update on the little bull calf bitten by a snake

   

Last January we found one of our new calves in difficulty in the paddock, within an hour he was transformed from a healthy 3 month old to a paralysed, drooling shell, bitten by a snake.

 9 months later - on the hunt for the molasses bottle!

Check the January and February posts to track the calf's saga.        http://lplatefarmer.blogspot.com.au/

January - blind & paralysed

He survived, but not with a bouncing back sort of recovery, it was more a slow but determined struggle. It's hard to know exactly what goes on in bovine brains- not a whole lot at the best of times, but this little guy definitely finds life a challenge. He eats, drinks and is part of the herd, but he approaches life steadily and with a much concentration.

One of the many effects of the snake bite was loss of sight, we watched in dismay as he staggered around the paddock bouncing off barbed wire fences and trees, completely unable to find his mother. His sight has improved but he probably sees life in a blurry, unfocussed way. He is smaller than the other calves of the same age and he gets picked on by the bigger ones so he knows to stick close to his mother.

36 hours after the snake bite- blind, confused, paralysed

An enjoyable side effect of his close contact with humans while he was so ill, is his  ease in our company and his curiosity about the things we do.  He's happy to potter around the shed though his help in the garlic patch isn't always appreciated. He drinks from the sprinkler and has discovered the molasses bottle on a shelf in the shed. He can't open the lid yet but he's working on it, in the mean time he has perfected the pathetic look that ensures a human gets the lid off for him.      
We never did find out what type of snake bit him, but we have eliminated the eastern Brown, Tiger and the Mulga snakes because they would have killed him, so that only leaves the Copperhead, Death Adder, Red Bellied Black and 3 or 4 others!!
Our record is not really so bad, in India there are a million bites a year and at least 50,000 human deaths.