Thread: Do you run over snakes?

Originally Posted by crump

what about para and quadraplegias from horses? The snakes thing is a biblical hand me down carry over and is entirely overated in its danger, I used to catch and remove snakes from suburban Brissy, I was in more danger from the traffic on the way to the job then I ever was from the hundreds of Eastern Browns, Red Bellies, Rough Scaleds I held between finger and thumb whilst removing them to a safer location.

I agree about snakes being very managable if you understand them, but I fail to grasp where this horse comparative is relevant.
These horrific injuries aren't from horses but from people riding horses.
It isn't as if dangerous nags are seeking out humans and running them down.

Imagine an exploration crew (mining) needing to work in a particular spot and a King Brown keeps chasing them into their vehicles. That is a danger that is going to end in a person losing their lives unless it is removed.
People without the nouse to know how to remove it will choose a safer option and kill it.

Originally Posted by 29dinosaur

That's fine - but the average Joe-blow would be better off leaving well alone.

definitely, or educating themselves as to what species inhabit their region and learning to identify them.

"In 1996-97, there were 644,407 hospital separations of people in Australia and 0.5% (n=3,539) were estimated to be due to horse-related injury."

Injury to nerves and spinal cord, 12 incidents in that time frame.

I cannot see the relevance in the comparison to horses.

the relevance is, that as soon as the conversation gets to snakes people have a zero tolerance approach ie, the only good snake is a dead one etc..The idea that the bush is crawling with the things all waiting to bite the unwary traveller, when in the big picture a snakebite actually being the cause of your demise in Australia is actually the most unlikely thing that could happen to you even though we have the deadliest species on the planet.The horse analogy shows there are plenty of activities we undertake with a hell of a lot more risk.

Now I see what you are getting at.
Don't you agree that our education system should be making Aussies aware of how nature works?
I agree with you that people have an irrational level of fear over snakes.
A healthy level is wise to maintain tho!

Originally Posted by Tango51

Now I see what you are getting at.
Don't you agree that our education system should be making Aussies aware of how nature works?
I agree with you that people have an irrational level of fear over snakes.
A healthy level is wise to maintain tho!

couldnt agree more, if you know what bit you, you will recieve specific antivenom, which is a better fix then the polyvalent type.

In north Thailand I was at a snake farm where they where having a show. It was a circular carpeted arena with the stall seats rising up like a tiny circus.
This Thai chap was teasing a cobra and it got him. He reacted by whipping it away from him....all well and good except I was seated at the bottom and it landed directly on my feet.
Now here is a lesson for everyone to learn. If you don't want to get bitten by a snake in range.....DON'T MOVE.
Easier said than done I know.
In the centre of the arena the Thai guy had lost his colouring, and next to me people were shouting and screaming and jumping up to higher seats....BANG....the cobra struck a woman on the archilles tendon as she was leaping up the seats.
To do that the snake had to 'spring' from between my legs upwards past my left knee. I was unharmed.
When the snake handlers had caught the snake and people had carried the woman out (who luckily had fainted) they gathered around me saying things like "You know snakes very well" but all I had done was get bitten twice and so read everything I could find about them.
All my encounters have been unwilling.
If you are reading a book and a snake comes your way, keep reading. It will pass by.

Originally Posted by UncleHo

G'day Redback

One snake that is a SE Qld resident is the Aggressive Taipan (Rough Scaled Taipan) that is a resident of the Caboolture/sunshine coast areas, has the same temperment as a King Brown not very friendly, this bloke is often mistaken for the Keelback which has a similar but smaller scale pattern and colour, often refered to around this area as, "Scaley Charlie"

BTW. the Red Belly Black is one of the only snakes that will eat the Cane Toad "Buffo Marinas" the snale kills the toad but the toad's poison kills the RBB, so if you have a yard full of Buffo's you haven't got Red Belly Blacks
the RBB will stand up to have a look at the surrounds, and will then retreat.

My yard,family & dogs protected by sharpened post hole shovel at the back door marvelous on Toads

cheers

G,day Uncle

I believe that the Inland Tiapan is also refered too as the fierce snake, the most venomous of all snakes.

Baz.

Cane toads are responsible for the demise of several venemous snake species in SE Queensland, notably Tiger Snakes, death adders and the aforementioned Red Bellied Black.Reason being that all these species included amphibians in their diet.Only the RBB population seems to be able to return from the initial toad invasion, Tigers and Adders are both uncommon to rare in SEQ.There are still small sattelite populations of Tiger snakes in the Border ranges area and there was a population near Maryborough, but it is thought to be extinct.Mulga snakes or King Browns catergorically DO NOT occur in coastal areas of eastern Australia, they are a denizen of arid areas, however,the much more abundant Eastern Brown occurs throughout SE Australia, and large specimens of these are what is commonly and erronously referred to as"King Browns".The Inland Taipan is a shy and retiring species confined to the Gibber Plains of the Diamantina drainage in the Birdsville region. The Rough Scaled Snake does occur on the coastal QLD strip and into Northern NSW, and is an aboreal relative of the Tiger snake complex.The only snake that is known to consume cane toads is the Freshwater Snake or Keelback, and it is only known to eat tadpoles and small juvenile toads and in no great quantity.AND one more for the record, "THERE IS NO SUCH SNAKE AS A SWAMP TIGER OR A YELLOW BELLIED BLACK"period.Trust me on this.