Last night on Survivor, the game took a venomous turn when a contestant was bitten by a snake on a Fiji beach, forcing medics to step in.
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In the episode, titled “Loveable Losers“, while sitting by the ocean, Canadian correctional officer Jake Latimer, 36, was bitten on his right foot by a sea krait. The show’s medical team evacuated the contestant from the island to a base camp for examination.
Fortunately, the snake did not inject venom into Latimer, which Survivor host Jeff Probst said would have been the worst-case scenario. Although Latimer began to recover after receiving fluids, a doctor determined it was unsafe for him to return to camp and continue the game.
“Jake is obviously emotionally upset, as anybody would be. But [we] felt like we should bring you inside this so you really know what’s happening and can see that we are absolutely focused on taking care of it,” Probst explained to viewers. “We’ve never had anything like this happen.”
Jeff Probst Assured Other Contestants That Snake Bites are Rare on Survivor
Before the immunity challenge began, Probst informed the other contestants about Latimer’s departure. He also assured them that snake bites are rare in the game and on the islands of Fiji.
“For a little perspective with the sea krait, it’s really rare for their bites to have venom; they usually just want you to go away, but it took a physical toll and an emotional toll,” the veteran host told the contestants. “He’s an expectant father. There was a lot going through his head, so there was no way that our medical team could even consider putting him back into the game with no food, no fire, in these conditions.”
With Latimer gone, the three tribes moved on to face a new, formidable challenge; the slowest team would then head to Tribal Council to eliminate one of their own. Spoiler alert: Ontario events manager Jeremiah Ing, 39, was voted out 2-1.
Meanwhile, this was a heartbreaking moment for Latimer, a soon-to-be father, who was willing to miss his child’s birth to win $1 million for his family. However, the show later revealed he made it home in time to see his wife give birth.