‘Survivor’ Player Removed From Game After Suffering Venomous Bite

There was a brutal first on Survivor during Wednesday’s episode as a bite from a venomous snake resulted in one player’s medical evacuation from Season 49.

Jake Latimer may have found himself in the power position in Kele early on, but the 36-year-old corrections officer found himself being suddenly removed from the game on Day 6 after being bitten on the bottom of his foot by a snake.

The snake bite itself wasn’t captured on camera, but Jake’s call for help to his fellow tribemates was. After the players looked up the snake in the off-camera field guide available to all players at camp, they determined that Jake had been bitten by the highly-venomous sea krait.

Production immediately jumped into action, and as the medical team laid Jake down on a stretcher to transport him to Survivor base camp, he reminded everyone that he was about to become a father back home. “I’ve got a kid coming,” he repeated.

Back at base camp, the Survivor medical team jumped into action to evaluate Jake, and they ultimately determined that he had gotten a “dry bite,” meaning the snake had not injected any venom into his system.

Despite the relief of that news, Survivor‘s doctor told Jake that he could not medically clear him to return to the game due to the lack of food and water to which he would be subjected. “There are too many uncontrolled variables there, Jake,” he said. “And we need to protect you.”

“Just for perspective,” host Jeff Probst explained, “if you could right now, you’d want him to have nutrients. You’d want him to have some food. You’d want air conditioning. You’d want full-time care. There’s no way, Jake, even in the next 48 hours, we could put you out into such an unforgiving situation as Survivor.”

Jake was then removed from the game, and viewers were informed via a title card that he was not only healthy but that he had made it home in time for the birth of his son.

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The Season 49 player addressed his unexpected exit from the game in an Instagram video following Wednesday’s episode, saying it was “incredibly hard to watch” and relive. Thanking the Survivor team and medical staff who attended to him, Jake admitted that he “thought [his] life was over” when he learned he had been bitten by a venomous snake.

“I was saying goodbye to my family,” he recalled. Despite his devastating Survivor exit, Jake said he believes “God works in mysterious ways,” noting that he was able to be there for the birth of his child. He added, “I’m so grateful to God that I’m still here.”

Survivor airs at 8 p.m. ET Wednesdays on CBS, streaming next day on Paramount+.