Dallas-Fort Worth sees increase in snakes

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FORT WORTH, Texas, May 8 (UPI) -- The Dallas-Fort Worth area, with high spring temperatures following a wet winter, has seen an increase in the number of venomous snakes, a report said Tuesday.

"They like rain and humid conditions. The rains we've had recently tend to be conducive to snake activity," said Jonathan Campell, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, of the snakes.

With more snakes, one a 5-foot-long copperhead found Sunday obstructing a garage door in suburban Providence Village, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Tuesday, come more snake bites.

Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth said it admitted five snake bite victims in April, compared to 17 in all of 2011.

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth reported treating five snake bite cases this spring.

The newspaper said that snake bites in Texas are largely from rattlesnakes and copperheads, that the snakes are nocturnal and tend to avoid humans, and are rarely fatal. They are, however, extremely painful and can cause serious tissue damage.