Snake handler bitten by rattlesnake

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida snake handler is recovering in the hospital after being bitten by a copperhead rattlesnake Wednesday.

Officials said the venomous snake bit the 25-year-old man while he was cleaning its cage at the Okalee Indian Village at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino complex. "Snakes usually respond to something we do. Honestly, they defend themselves just from our proximity. Most animals look at people as predators, whether we remember we are or not," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Team Captain Jeffrey Fobb, "so they respond to us being close to them by defending themselves and sometimes they defend themselves very vigorously."

The victim was admitted to the hospital but is expected to be OK.

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