Man bitten three times after picking up rattlesnake

MISSOULA (AP) – An unidentified man is recovering from three rattlesnake bites sustained in western Montana.

The Missoulian reports Granite County Commissioner Scott Adler says his daughter spotted the snake sunning itself on a road as she was walking sheep to their pen near the town of Drummond, about 40 miles southeast of Missoula.

Adler said he was getting ready to shoot the reptile when the man told him he had experience dealing with rattlers. He picked up the snake and was bitten three times in the arm.

The rattlesnake died, and Adler says the man's arm turned black and his face swelled up before he was taken to the hospital.

Area resident Vickie Weaver says the man is recovering.