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Man almost loses finger to sea snake bite because he wanted to 'keep fishing'

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: A Northern Territory man has been lucky to not lose his finger after he brushed off a bite from a venomous sea snake while on a fishing trip with friends.

Peter Davis, from Darwin, was part of a group of avid anglers at a popular fishing spot at Chambers Bay on February 27 when he pulled a sea snake from the water.

After preparing to cut the snake loose from his line, it caught him off guard and unknowing to Mr Davis at the time, sunk its teeth into his finger.

Peter Davis was enjoying a fishing trip with friends when he was bit by a sea snake. Source: Supplied
Peter Davis was enjoying a fishing trip with friends when he was bit by a sea snake. Source: Supplied

"He was holding his fishing line he took his eye off it for a split second to try and cut the line," his fishing companion Nathan Corpus told Yahoo7 News.

"He felt it rush up his arm and brush past his finger. He didn’t know whether it had bit him or not."

Instead of seeking immediate medical attention, Mr Davis played down the encounter and carried on fishing.

The bite left him in hospital with doctors warning if he'd left his wound untreated any longer, they would have been forced to remove his finger. Source: Supplied
The bite left him in hospital with doctors warning if he'd left his wound untreated any longer, they would have been forced to remove his finger. Source: Supplied

The following day the group were back out on the water when Mr Davis began developing pain in his hand. But for the second day running, he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of a good day fishing.

"Peter mentioned that his hand felt like it was burning but there were no visible tell tale signs to suggest panic and plus the fishing had just gotten better so we stayed for the rest of the day," Mr Corpus said.

Two days later, and still without any medical assessment, Mr Corpus said Mr Davis, who stands at a towering six foot four, had taken a turn for the worse.

His finger quickly deteriorated after two days. Source: Supplied
His finger quickly deteriorated after two days. Source: Supplied

"I saw him later that day around lunchtime and he looked terrible, he was nauseous and looked like he'd been hit by a freight train."

His finger had swelled considerably and Mr Corpus urged him to go to the hospital immediately. Once again, he seemed unconcerned and said he would wait for his wife to return from work before going.

But after Mr Corpus' wife saw a photo of the infected finger, she urged her husband to take Mr Davis to the hospital himself.

Despite the injury, the group of friends were over the moon with their fishing trip. Source: Supplied
Despite the injury, the group of friends were over the moon with their fishing trip. Source: Supplied

"I showed my wife and she pushed me out the door telling me to go grab him now and take him to the hospital."

The pair rushed to the hospital where doctors told him he'd nearly left it too late.

"Lucky I did as it had gotten that bad the doctors said it could be a possibility of amputation," Mr Corpus told Yahoo7 News.

Doctors confirmed he had been bit by the snake but thankfully hadn't injected any venom into his bloodstream.

"They reckon the teeth on them can be just as dangerous as the venom, just from the infection, which is what I got. I didn't get no venom," he told the ABC.

After a successful operation to remove the infection from his finger, Mr Davis is now on the mend.

An expert has warned sea snakes can prove deadlier than western browns. Source: Getty
An expert has warned sea snakes can prove deadlier than western browns. Source: Getty

And despite his close call with the sea snake, he says the trip was one to remember all be it for different reasons.

"We got something like five [barra] over 90 and a metrey, so yeah it was a great trip," he boasted.

Honorary fellow at Charles Darwin University Dr Michael Guinea told the ABC anglers should tread with caution when encountering sea snakes.

"These snakes are equally poisonous if not more poisonous as things such as our tiger snakes and western browns we have around Darwin where people die almost annually from bites.," he said.

He urged anyone who catches a sea snake to cut it from their line immediately with its behaviour becoming aggressive when pulled from the water.