Mother Nature can be scary, but one Texas woman got the fright of her life when she was attacked by both a snake and a hawk while mowing her lawn last month.
Peggy Jones, a 64-year-old from Silsbee, Texas, was working in her yard on the evening of July 25 when she said a snake fell from the sky and wrapped around her arm. Jones, who described the event as a freak incident to local media, said a hawk then swooped down after the snake to retrieve its lost dinner.
Jones said the snake began to strike at her face while the hawk — a bird of prey that feeds on certain snake species — dug its talons into the flesh of her forearm.
“It was scary and very traumatic,” Jones told KBMT-TV. “I think I just went into survival mode.”
Jones said she tried to shake the animals from her body but to no avail. The snake continued to constrict on her arm while the hawk persisted in its attempt to pull the reptile away.
“The hawk was darting in and out grabbing for the snake,” she told the local outlet The Silsbee Bee. “His wings were slapping me while he was clawing at the snake and that is where the deeper cuts and rips came from.”
Naturally, Jones cried out for help.
“I’m screaming during this whole time, ‘Help me, Jesus! Please, help me, Jesus!’” she said.
She said the hawk made about four attempts to snatch the snake before it was finally successful. By the time Jones’ arm was free, she said the limb was covered in blood.
Jones said she was left with severe bruising and cuts to her arms and face. She said the strikes to her face damaged her glasses. Her husband Wendell, who was alerted by his wife’s screaming, drove her to the emergency room. There, doctors said Jones had not been bitten by the snake, despite her damaged spectacles.
Jones was released from the hospital shortly after, but she said the incident has left her rattled, bandaged, and disturbed. She told KBMT-TV she hasn’t been sleeping well since the attack.
Through tears, Jones told the outlet she wanted to thank her local community for their prayers and support.
“It’s been an overwhelming experience and I just am thankful that I’m alive,” she said.
According to the conservationist group Forest Wildlife, hawk attacks are rare. If you are attacked by a hawk, it is best to wave your arms, make loud noises and duck for cover. It is not advised to turn and run from an attacking bird of prey.