Australians already live in one of the most dangerous places in the world—now it seems that those dangers posed by crocs, kangaroos, and the world’s largest collection of deadly venomous reptiles won’t stay contained in the outback and wilderness areas where they belong.
In a video that hit the internet on Saturday the 14th of June, snake catching professionals can be observed removing a venomous snake that was trying to camouflage itself among the collection of stuffed animals on a child’s bed. The video came courtesy of Snake Catchers Brisbane & Gold Coast, who had been called in to deal with the problem.
The snake was of a highly venomous variety, known as a red-bellied black snake. It was removed from the bed of a child in the down of Jimboomba by employees of the company, according to the text copy which accompanied the company’s Facebook post and video.
According to the zoological fact sheet on the species, which is published by the government body in Victoria, Australia that oversees such matters, despite the snake’s dangerous venom, no human deaths have been recorded as resulting from contact with the creature. The fact sheet characterizes the red-bellied black shame as “not aggressive,” and says that it prefers to retreat rather than attack, although it will posture and strike if it feels sufficiently threatened.
However, a case report published on Australia’s Animal Emergency Service website shows that dogs in Australia frequently die from their encounters with the red-bellied black snake. It is clear that the snake’s venomous bite is deadly to creatures below a certain size. The article describes the experience of a Jack Russel terrier who suffered a bite on its foreleg, and died “within minutes” of being admitted to veterinary care.
Going far back into Australian history, an article dated Feb. 25, 1887 in Melbourne’s The Argus newspaper details the story of a Chinese gardener who suffered a fatal bite from an unidentified “black snake.”
