Survivor’s Jeff Probst Details Contestant’s Snake Bite That Led to Medical Evacuation

“While Jake was being transported by boat to base camp, we lost communication with them,” Jeff explained. “So, when they arrived, we didn’t know what condition he was in.”

As for Jeff’s point of view upon Jake’s arrival at camp, he noted, “It was very clear this was as serious as we feared and that Jake was in the absolute best care he could ever hope, for someone bitten by a snake in the middle of the ocean. He had our full team of doctors, nurses and paramedics.”

Thankfully, it was determined that the bite in question was a “dry bite,” meaning no venom had been dispensed, however the medical determination was to keep Jake from reentering the game.

And while the moment was a sobering reminder of how intense life in Fiji can be for the Survivor contestants, Jeff also put into perspective how safe the game’s players are when filming.

“One way to look at it is, this is our 20th evacuation,” he said. “The other way to look at it is that of the 751 people who have played Survivor over 25 years, only 20 have been evacuated. That’s just over 2 percent.”

He continued, “What any evacuation says about this game is that it’s real. I still get asked all the time if Survivor is real. But for anyone who still wonders, that was a real sea krait, that was a real bite, and that was a very terrifying situation.”

For more on this season’s contestants, read on.