A Thai soldier holds a slaughtered snake while a US Marine drinks its blood during a jungle survival training in the joint 'Cobra Gold' military exercise in Chantaburi province.
A trial which consisted of drinking severed cobra blood and then grilling and eating the snakes took place today on a Thai navy base in Chonburi province.
The US and Thailand hold on February 14, the annual joint 'Cobra Gold', the largest US-led military exercises in Asia involving gruelling drills in the Thai jungle, war games, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise.
The training, now in its 37th year, last for 10 days and trials include slurping snake blood, eating geckos and removing venom from scorpions and tarantulas.
Being stuck in a jungle is a real-life situation that the troops might be stuck in at some point in the future and the war drills prepare them for that.
