Ranger Bitten By Snake While Using Bush As A Toilet

San Onofre- May 12, 2005

A female park ranger who decided to defecate in a bushy area because toilets were too far, got more than she had bargained for when she was bitten by a snake on her buttocks. The 29-year-old woman who is employed by the state parks gave out a scream when the snake struck her bottom, alerting her colleagues who rushed to her aid. State spokesman Hal Dairywimple said the woman who declines to be named was to blame, charging: "She knows where the toilets are." According to Dairywimple, the woman chose to relieve herself in the bush because there were no toilets near the main entrance where she was manning the gate. Recounting her ordeal, she said: "I felt a painful sting and I ran screaming for help towards my colleagues. However, that is all I can remember because when I woke up I found myself in a hospital bed." Other rangers who came to her aid say they saw a snake escaping into the thick bush near bathroom#4 and immediately summoned for an ambulence. She was admitted for two nights at the nearby San Clemente Hospital. Another ranger said: "The situation is really pathetic as we are exposed to danger because we are forced to use the bush as a toilet. We have tried to ask the state to build some toilets for us on several occasions, but up to now they have not done anything about it." Murphy, the Mayor of San Onofre, had no sympathy for the ranger."I heard that there was a female ranger who was bitten by a snake, but I am not sure what she was doing at the time. However, if she was relieving her self in the bushes then that is not the state’s fault as they know where the nearest toilets are if they need to relieve themselves," he said.