A man from Lake Elsinore, California, was bitten by a rattlesnake Monday while trying to take a selfie with it, according to . Alex Gomez found the four-foot-long snake in a field by his family’s ranch. It bit his hand after he put it around his neck for the photo. He was transported to a local hospital and treated with anti-venom. Gomez's mother, Deborah Gomez, said the skin near the wound was rotting and that he may lose his hand.
Gomez isn’t the first to be bitten by a rattlesnake in California while trying to take a selfie. A San Diego man was nearly killed in July under similar circumstances, according to . Todd Fassler was charged more than $150,000 after doctors depleted the anti-venom stores at two different hospitals to treat his bite.
According to , rattlesnakes account for more than 800 bites each year, with one or two resulting in death. The peak season for rattlesnake bites is between April and October.