Taking a nap on the rocky banks of the Flathead River
in Montana can be dangerous, especially if a snake has the same
idea. When hiker Bill Gustafson, 17, of Columbia Falls took a break
to snooze in the sun July 5, he fell asleep bare-chested. A
non-poisonous garter snake then slithered onto his warm chest
without waking him. Gustafson didn’t know what startled him into
consciousness, but when he opened his eyes a hawk was diving
straight for him. It snatched the snake off his chest and flew
away, leaving behind several clawed gashes in the teenager’s skin.
Otherwise, Gustafson was unharmed, although stunned. “I didn’t
really understand what was happening,” he told Hungry Horse News.
Two fisherman ran to help him after watching the hawk fly away with
its meal; no one had time to identify the type of
hawk.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hawk sees opportunity, snatches it.
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