Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

'I'm a Marine get me out of here!': Stomach-churning images show US soldiers drinking cobra blood

Soldiers pictured are among 13,000 taking part in an annual jungle challenge

Rob Williams
Wednesday 20 February 2013 18:34 GMT
Comments

WARNING: Images contain graphic content

They may look like images from a more sadistic version of 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here', but the images above are actually from a jungle survival program called Cobra Gold 2013, an annual, multi-national military training programme.

The soldiers pictured are among 13,000 taking part in the annual challenge.

Click HERE to view the images

After being being taught how to kill venomous snakes, US Marines were given the option of drinking the animal's blood - and were clearly willing.

The 10-day-drill, which is Thai-US sponsored, was held this year in the Sattahip district of Thailand’s Chonburi province.

US Marines take part in the military exercise alongside military personnel and soldiers from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

The stomach churning images show marines drinking snake blood, which is considered a local aphrodisiac after taking part in training that covers amphibious assault, humanitarian relief, and evacuation of friendly forces as well as jungle survival techniques.

WARNING: Video contains graphic images

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in