In the land down under, where the wildlife is as beautiful as it is dangerous, a seemingly ordinary day can quickly turn into a life-threatening situation. This was the case for one Australian dad, whose quick thinking and a moment of hesitation may have saved his life.
Samuel, a father of four, was at home when his wife’s urgent cries pierced the air. ‘Snake, snake!’ she yelled, her voice laced with panic. Samuel, propelled by instinct, rushed towards her car, expecting to confront a monstrous serpent. Instead, he found himself face-to-face with what appeared to be a harmless baby python. Or so he thought.
Speaking to Yahoo News, Samuel recounted the harrowing encounter. ‘She was screaming… Obviously, I was expecting it to be a lot bigger. When I moved in close it looked like a python,’ he said. ‘Then I thought, wait a minute, the way it was arching up, hissing, and attacking, that’s not a python.’
Experts agree that Samuel’s decision to reconsider was a wise one. Chris Williams from Urban Reptile Removal explained the gravity of the situation. ‘It’s not an exaggeration to say it could have been a matter of life and death,’ he said. The snake in question was a baby eastern brown, the second most venomous land snake in the world. In 2024, an Australian father tragically passed away while trying to remove a snake from a childcare centre.
The deceptive appearance of juvenile eastern browns, which look nothing like their deep-brown adult counterparts, often leads to dangerous misunderstandings. ‘They’re striped, and they’ve got this demure little head, so you’d think butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth. But they can certainly pack a punch,’ Chris warned.
Eastern brown snakes, while highly defensive, are often mistaken for being aggressive. They are unlikely to bite unless they feel threatened, but when they do, the consequences can be fatal. Research from Monash University reveals that 75 per cent of snake bite victims in Australia are men, with a median age of 46.5. Although deaths from snake bites are rare, with the National Coronial Information Service reporting 35 fatalities between 2000 and 2016, eastern browns were responsible for 23 of those deaths.
Samuel’s experience with pet pythons gave him the confidence to coax the eastern brown into a bucket, but this is not something experts recommend for the untrained. Recognising the potential danger to his neighbourhood, especially with children around, he made the responsible choice to call a professional snake catcher. His priority was to ensure the snake was safely removed and relocated away from residential areas.
As the eastern browns began hatching around Sydney, snake catchers have been responding to numerous calls. Samuel’s story serves as a stark reminder to all Australians, especially parents, to exercise caution and never attempt to handle snakes on their own. The welfare of both humans and the reptiles could be at stake.
Have you ever had a close encounter with a snake or another dangerous animal? What steps do you take to stay safe in these situations? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences—drop a comment below and join the conversation!
Also read: Do you have this potentially dangerous detail in your garden? Here’s how you could check!
