Sleepy Snakes of Central Victoria
Posted on 5 April, 2016 by Connecting Country
If you look on page 11 of this week’s Midland Express newspaper (5 April 2016), you’ll see the third in our monthly series of Nature News articles. Local resident Benjamin Boxshall has written a terrific article – Neighbourhood (Bird)watch.
In March, the Nature News article in the Midland Express was written by local Castlemaine naturalist, Bernard Slattery. Bernard shared his experiences about an occasional sight in our bush during these warmer days – snakes. Here is the article in case you missed out.
An eastern brown found in Fryers Forest.
Photo: Bernard Slattery
Australians love horror stories about snakes. My favourite is this headline from the Sydney Daily Telegraph: ‘Deadly reptiles slither towards the urban sprawl.’ You’d think from this that your average snake is pretty keen to leap at your throat—right?
The funny thing is, that when you actually come across them, the main impressions you get are that they’re sleepy, or very shy and keen to get away. It’s a strange experience to be walking in the bush and to suddenly realise that the rustling sound you hear is a large snake sliding out of sight.
At Vaughan Springs last year I came within a few inches of standing on a Tiger Snake, curled up discreetly at the side of the track, and saw it only when it bolted at some speed down a steep slope. At moments like these you realise how strange our relationship to them is; they live at the margins of our perceptions and in our imagination, but are rarely willing to stay long in our company.
On my wanderings in this region the snake I’ve seen the most often is the Eastern Brown, which has enthusiastically adapted to modern living because of its taste for the rodents which hang around our settlements.
But the most intricately beautiful species for me is the Red-bellied Black. The Australian Museum says of it: ‘This beautiful serpent shares our love of sunshine and water, and is a familiar sight to many outdoor adventurers … Attitudes towards these largely inoffensive snakes are slowly changing, however they are still often seen as a dangerous menace and unjustly persecuted.’
A red-bellied black on the Midland Highway. Photo: Bernard Slattery
Once, riding my bike on the Pyrenees Highway, I saw a splendid Black Snake basking in the early morning sun in the middle of the road. Not being an expert, I wasn’t keen to go too close, but tried to move it by ignorantly throwing small sticks at it. It sleepily disregarded my interference, and soon suffered the inevitable fate: five million reptiles are killed on our roads every year, many of them deliberately.
You have to be sensible about snakes. If you are, the chances of being hurt by one are seriously low. On average less than 3 people die from snake bite every year in this country, some while unwisely trying to manhandle the creature. By contrast, around 3 people a day are killed by cars in Australia.
Check out Museum Victoria’s Field Guide To Fauna App if you’d like more information on these fascinating local species.
Great article Bernard, why people in cars target snakes is beyond me and when challenged they say the only good snake is a dead one.
Did you know that around 250 people die from bee stings each year in Australia, gets the risk of snakes into perspective and sharks too for another over reaction.