The death of a Queensland snake catcher who was bitten while attempting to move a taipan is a tragic reminder of just how dangerous handling the deadly reptiles can be.
Professional handler Wayne Cameron, 54, reportedly attempted to drive himself to hospital after being bitten at a Rockhampton property on Sunday, but he was not able to do so in time.
While some grey nomads in the past have been tempted to intervene to prevent snakes moving too close to their camp, this sort of behaviour is very much discouraged.
Another Rockhampton snake catcher, Benjamin Hansen, said the risks are exceptionally high.
“As soon as you try to catch a snake you’re 80% more likely to get bitten by that snake by just immediately putting yourself in that position,” he told the ABC. “It’s scary. It just reaffirms you’ve got to be careful with what we do and no matter how good your system is and how experienced you are, things can still go wrong.”
Coastal taipans can grow up to 2.9 metres in length and are found in Central Queensland and northern and eastern Australia.
While we were in Tasmania,Nov’ to Apr’, we saw no less than five snakes in the wild including a humongous black tiger snake on Brueni Island, which we photographed from.the car. Others including another tiger at the entry to a wetlands bird sanctuary on the Tamar were given a wide berth, remember, keep your eyes open and leave them alone.