by Here’s the intriguing moment a snake catcher taunts a highly venomous eastern brown snake to prove that they aren’t always ᴀɢɢʀᴇssɪᴠᴇ.
Alex Reynolds, owner of A+ Reptile Locations in Toowoomba, was called to a property. The infant snake, which had nestled into the rocks of a retaining wall, was taken to nearby Flagstone Creek to be released.
But before Mr Reynolds let her go, he took a video to educate people about how to react if they encounter the ᴅᴇᴀᴅʟʏ reptiles.
“She’s only small, but this is their defence – I’m in her space she’s scared of me she doesn’t understand what’s happening” Mr Reynolds said.
“She just thinks I’m trying to ᴋɪʟʟ her. But if you watch this, if I stay still and I pose and I’m no ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ to her she’ll back off and she’ll start to ease herself away from me”.
Mr Reynolds then begins waving his hat to demonstrate how the snake gets ready to strike at quick movement.
“If my shadow moves, look at her, she’s defending herself again. This just proves that they will always be the first one to back away,” he says.
Snake experts say the best way to avoid a snake ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ is to stay completely still. We have to stay still and stay calm. If we move quickly, the snake will misunderstand that we are trying to ʜᴀʀᴍ them.
A well-designed study that tracked humans and eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) — the most ꜰᴇᴀʀᴇᴅ snake in Australia — revealed that less than 1 per cent of encounters with snakes resulted in a strike.
Most of the time snakes retreated without even being seen, or froze to avoid detection.
While you may think that most snake ʙɪᴛᴇs occur out bush, research in 2016 showed “the majority of sɴᴀᴋᴇʙɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴀᴛᴀʟɪᴛɪᴇs in Australia occur around a person’s residence within a major city or inner regional area”.
Keeping your distance from any snakes you see is a good start.
Wearing shoes is one of the best ways to prevent a sɴᴀᴋᴇʙɪᴛᴇ, because most accidental ʙɪᴛᴇs occur to the lower limbs. Lighting the ground while walking outside at night in the summertime is also advised.
And don’t ever handle a snake. Even if you think you know the type of snake, most Australians are actually very poor at identifying snakes correctly. If needed, snake catchers have the expertise and equipment to ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ and relocate snakes for you.
