Brian WhipkeyPennsylvania Outdoors Columnist
July 23, 2026, 6:29 p.m. ET
Pennsylvania snake handler bitten by rattlesnake in southwestern Pa.
- He acknowledges the snake was not at fault and was only protecting itself.
- Pennsylvania has three venomous snake species, and a permit is required to hunt or handle them.
An experienced Pennsylvania snake handler just realized he crossed a safety guideline when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake and hopes others will learn from his experience.
Mark Kline, 31, Central City, said he shouldn’t have been doing what he did on July 11 while hunting for venomous snakes on Mount Davis in southern Somerset County.
He was hunting for the slithering reptiles with his brother Rian and was having good luck seeing plenty of rattlesnakes.
They were walking around a rocky area where they found more than a dozen snakes. He then spotted a nice yellow-phase timber rattlesnake hiding in some rocks.
“I took my hook and I kept trying to coax her out. I couldn’t really get her. I know better than to do what I did,” he said.Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!Go Outdoors PA: Snake hunter explains why we need these reptiles in Pennsylvania
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In the heat of the moment, “I reached down and grabbed her, trying to work her backwards with my hand because I was far away from her head. I started working her back and as soon as she started to loosen up, I saw her head come out from the other side. She nailed me on the back side of the finger,” he explained.
When Kline saw the blood, he told his brother he was bitten and to call 911. They were about 900 yards from the nearest road and started walking out. “It felt like a bee sting, like I knew something bad happened,” he said.
By the time they made it to the road, he was thankful the Addison Volunteer Fire Department had arrived and then arranged a landing zone for a medical helicopter.
“I started to feel tingles. I was tingling in my mouth, toes and fingers, like the pins and needles feeling,” he said. His brother said he started slurring his speech, too. “I could feel my throat started to close up,” he said.
He was flown by helicopter to Conemaugh Medical Center in Johnstown where he was treated with a variety of medicines for a week before being released, including being treated for an allergic reaction.
The bite on his ring finger on his right hand caused his hand and arm to swell. As of July 22, he was still having trouble with his finger and his doctors are concerned it may not heal.
“It’s probably going to be removed,” Kline said.
He works in a coal mine as a roof bolter and believes he’ll probably miss a month of work while he recovers.
Looking back, he said he learned from his short lapse in judgement.
“I never thought I would have been bit, I’ve handled a couple hundred of them,” the avid outdoorsman said. “It was just this one time, I knew better. I’ve handled enough of them that I thought I was quick enough. So I wasn’t,” he said about the fast strike. He said he has yelled at his brother for doing the same thing in the past. “I knew better.”
Before that mishap, he said it’s been a good year to see snakes. He and his brother have also been in several counties like Potter, Cameron, Elk and Cambria looking for rattlers.
“We’ve been all over hunting them,” Kline said. “My brother said he’s never seen as many as we’ve seen this year.”
In some rock outcroppings, he said there would be large numbers of snakes out in the sun.
“They’re just laying there like a spaghetti pile,” he said.
Snake hunting is a hobby he likes to do. He remembers when he first was able to handle one and had the snake’s head safely in a clear tube.
“I caught my first one and it was on. I just enjoyed it a lot,” he said.
However, for the time being, he doesn’t believe he’ll be looking for more snakes until next summer.
“If I wasn’t worried about my finger right now, I’d probably be out looking for them,” he said.
He doesn’t kill snakes, including the one that bit him.
“The more I handle them and actually seeing what their nature is, I don’t think I actually have it in my heart to keep one. If I do, it’s got to be something 6 foot or 7 foot, it’s going to have to be massive,” he said and doubting that he would kill one that size.
“In order for a snake to get that big, it’s been around for a long, long time. I don’t want its life to end with me,” he said.
He likes seeing how the snakes differ from each other.
“They have real vibrant colors, some of them,” he said. He also likes their rattles on their tails and how they use it to communicate. “If they rattle, they see you and usually start retreating. They don’t want to be bothered.”
For people concerned about snakes, he said, there’s simple advice.
“If you see one, give it space,” he said. “They’re not there to hurt you. They are there doing their deal.”
In his situation, he said it wasn’t the snake’s fault as he was trying to move her.
“She was scared. She did what she was supposed to do. You can’t fault a snake for protecting itself,” he said. “It doesn’t know my intentions.”
When he does safely get a snake with his long hooks, they place the head in a clear tube and check it out, including taking measurements and documenting the number of scales and rattles.
The World Population Review organization monitors the number of venomous snake bites each year in every state in the country. They report Pennsylvania has an average of 64 victims a year.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commisssion regulates snakes and reports there are 21 species of snakes found in Pennsylvania. Three species — timber rattlesnakes, copperhead and the eastern massasauga — are venomous. The massasauga are only found in Venango and Butler counties in Pennsylvania.
A permit is required to hunt, take, catch, kill or possess timber rattlesnakes and Eastern copperheads.
The venomous snake permit fee for residents is $31.97 per year and the fee for non-residents is $61.97 per year. People also need a Pennsylvania fishing license, too. The handling season for snakes this year is June 13 through July 31.
If you encounter a snake, the agency agrees with Kline and recommends people give the reptile a wide berth to let it or yourself to move along. If you are bitten by a poisonous snake, you should go to a hospital immediately.
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