A Mercer County man says that he is lucky to be alive after he was bit by a venomous snake while on a hike in New Jersey – an incredibly rare occurrence in the Garden State.

Kevin Murray, of Hopewell Township, spend several days at Capital Health after he was bit by a copperhead snake while hiking on a trail not far from his home.

Murray says that the incident happened a week ago around 10 p.m. just a few feet away from where he and his friends had parked before their hike. He says that he suddenly felt an intense stinging pain on his left ankle. He says he initially thought he had been stung by a bee or wasp, never imagining that it was a snake.

“I kind of fell down after it happened, just because my foot was in a lot of pain. And I looked around and that’s when I saw the snake and I put together that I’d just been bitten,” Murray says. “I just assumed it would have been a garden snake or something that wouldn’t be much of a problem. I had no idea it was a copperhead.”

Murray says that he spent some time in the ICU. Doctors did not have to administer antivenom. Murray says that he is glad about that, because he was told that antivenom can come with some long-term side effects.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection says that copperhead snakes are among the rarest snake species in New Jersey and that even running into one is rare. The agency says that bites from venomous snakes in New Jersey is also rare. The DEP says that there have been less than 12 incidents in the past 20 years.