Clearly, the snake wasn't charmed

A German snake-charmer found out the hard way last week that at least one French snake found him . . . er . . . shall we say, less than charming?

53 year-old Dieter Zorn died from a heart attack on Tuesday evening, just minutes after being bitten by an Aspic viper, during his ‘Reptile Show’ in Faugères, southern France.

He had been touring villages in the Hérault area of France, teaching the public to overcome their fear of snakes and other reptiles.

Zorn was bitten several times by the viper, but was able to put the creature back into a secure container, to prevent it from attacking members of the audience, which included children, according to regional daily Midi Libre.

Emergency services arrived on the scene and administered a blood-thinner to Zorn, but were unable to save him after he went into cardiac arrest.

His colleague Uschi Kallus, who ran the 'Reptile Show' along with Zorn, told The Local he had suffered an "extremely rare allergic reaction" to the bite, and emphasized that Zorn would not have wanted the viper to be blamed for his death.

"His ambition and his objective in life was to help people to conquer their fears about snakes and reptiles," she added, noting that the incident was "exceptionally uncommon."

There's more at the link.

I'm sorry the man's dead . . . but a German handling a French snake?  Clearly, the snake had a long memory!  Was its name 'Maginot', or perhaps 'Maquis'?

Peter