Yeah, you might want to leave that on the ground

I've had a snootfull or two in my day, but I can't imagine being drunk enough to think picking something like this up off the ground was a good idea:

A 22-year-old man was hospitalized in fair condition today as he was being treated for a bite inflicted by a rattle snake that he picked up off the ground at an Inglewood park following an apparent bout of drinking, authorities said.

The man discovered the reptile at Edward Vincent Park, at 700 Warren Lane, late Tuesday night, said Inglewood police Sgt. Juan Ferreira.

"He picked up the snake, and got bit" on the hand, he said.

The victim then placed the reptile in a bucket, the bucket in a bag, and the bag in the trunk of his car, Ferreira said, adding that he tried to drive himself to a hospital but pulled over on the side of the road and called 911.

[...]

Paramedics took him to Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood police Sgt. Matthew Hart told RMG News.

In telephone conversations, animal control officials and hospital staff asked Inglewood police officers at the scene to determine what kind of snake bit the man.

The officers then took the bucket into which the reptile had been placed out of the victim's trunk and, while one officer held down the snake with a crowbar-type tool, another one used a pocket knife to cut off its head, RMG reported.

Police then took the dead snake to the hospital, where the victim was receiving anti-venom treatment this morning and listed in stable condition, Hart said.

Ferreira said a rattlesnake surfacing at the park was novel.

"It's extremely uncommon. I've been here for 10 years, and have never heard of a rattlesnake being found at one of our parks," he said.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, had apparently been drinking before coming across the reptile, Hart said.

Hart reminded drunken idiots without a lick of common sense never to try to pick up a snake outdoors. Unless they want to the gene pool a great big favor, that is.

Oops. In my haste to publish this post, I might have messed up that last paragraph just a little bit.