“Is he breathing?!” — those terrifying words echoed through camp as Jake Latimer faced one of the most life-threatening moments in Survivor history.
On the October 8th episode of Survivor season 49, the 36-year-old contestant was bitten by a highly venomous black-banded sea krait while standing in shallow ocean water near his tribe’s camp in Fiji.
Jake was immediately rushed to the production team’s medical base, where paramedics and Survivor host Jeff Probst rushed to his side.
“Jake, I’m here with you, buddy,” Probst said as medics treated the injured contestant. “We think it may have been a dry bite — no venom, but we have to treat it as the worst-case scenario.”
Medical staff explained that a dry bite occurs when a venomous snake bites but doesn’t inject venom, often as a defensive warning. Still, because the snake species was extremely toxic, Jake was treated with full precautions, fluids, and oxygen.
Thankfully, the bite was confirmed to be dry — but Jake was still removed from the game to ensure his safety and recovery.
In his first interview since leaving the island, Jake opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the terrifying experience and emotional aftermath, especially as his wife was pregnant back home.
“Am I ever going to get off this island? Am I ever going to see my child? Am I ever going to meet my child?” he recalled tearfully. “That’s when it hit me — I had tubes coming out of me, an oxygen mask on, and I realized how close it was.”
Jake praised the Survivor medical team for saving his life and making him feel safe. Though he admitted he has “unfinished business” on the show, he says he completely respects the decision to remove him from competition.
Even after confirming there was no venom, Jake was airlifted to a hospital in Australia for additional monitoring before flying home to Canada.
Miraculously, he made it back just 48 hours before the birth of his son, Jax.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Jake said. “I think that snake was put there for a reason — to get me home. I wanted that game so bad, but being there for Jax’s birth was worth a million dollars. It was a blessing in disguise.”
Survivor season 49 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS, continuing the adventure — and the danger — that has defined the show for over two decades.
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