SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls Animal Control responds to thousands of calls every year. So far in 2025, only one of those has involved a venomous snake bite.

It happened last Sunday, when animal control officers said they found two African Forest Cobras loose from their containers and a contained Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.

Allegedly, the cobras were inside plastic totes when they were knocked over. A Sioux Falls man was bitten by one of the three snakes, which he kept inside his apartment, and taken to the hospital.

"It's very rare that we will have these sorts of animals around," Sioux Falls Animal Control Officer Silhouette Smith said.

Officers said they have to be prepared for anything from on-the-go ostriches to last week's call for the three snakes.

"We used a snak

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