South Africa’s Steve Irwin spoke of a near-death experience he encountered with a snake just two years before he died from a deadly Green Mamba bite.
Graham ‘Dingo’ Dinkleman died last Saturday following complications from cobra venom after he revealed two years ago that he was severely allergic to the poison.
Speaking to You magazine in January 2022, Dingo recalled shooting a documentary in the Amazon rainforest in South America in 2019 before learning of his fatal allergy.
On February 28, the animal lover had returned to his base camp in the middle of the jungle before noticing a small brown snake with orange eyes.
Thinking it was just a small and harmless reptile, Dingo went to take a photo of it before he and the crew realised it was a poisonous leopard water snake.
He and his colleague took the snake out of the water before it bit his friend five or six times.
‘He didn’t have any reaction. No swelling, no pain, nothing,’ Dingo recalled.
But when he tried to handle the snake so he could grab a snap, the reptile sank its fangs into him too.
Dingo remembered the bite initially did not feel too sore, so he left it as he continued taking his photographs.
Then he began feeling dizzy and woozy, revealing to the magazine: ‘I knew immediately that I was going into anaphylactic shock.
‘I know that I’m very allergic to elapid venom, which is found in cobras and mambas’.
Dingo said he had been allergic to this type of venom for 15 years, but at the time was unaware it could be found in a leopard water snake.
A moment later he dropped to the ground and was unable to catch his breath.
‘I was dying in the middle of the jungle,’ he told You.
Dingo’s life was saved that day thanks to the quick action of the filming crew and on site medic.
‘I would’ve been done within a minute-and-a-half to two minutes if I hadn’t received massive amounts of adrenaline injected into my veins,’ he said.
He recalled thinking only of his family in what he thought were his final moments, saying he wanted to be able to watch his children marry.
Those thoughts pushed him to fight against the venom and cling to life, as he vowed to embrace the second chance he had been given.
Tragically, the father-of-three, from Pietermaritzburg, was bitten by a Green Mamba around a month ago and went into anaphylactic shock after he had an allergic reaction to the venom.
His wife Kirsty said he went into an induced coma while being treated in an in intensive care hospital unit.
While under heavy sedatives it was hoped that his body would recover but Kirsty later confirmed the tragic news about his death.
Tributes have been pouring in for Dingo, with his wife Kirsty saying: ‘Dingo fought incredibly hard throughout this very difficult period.
‘We know that he was fighting to be here with us and we are so grateful for this.
‘Sadly, despite his strength and resilience, my beloved husband passed away peacefully today, surrounded by his family’.
Kirsty thanked well-wishers for their support and said: ‘Today [Saturday] is one month since the incident, and we have experienced such comfort and love from your messages and prayers from all over the world.’
Dingo grew popular for his daring rescues of dangerous reptiles and had amassed more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers and over 600,000 Instagram fans.
