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Austrelaps (Australian Copperhead)


StS

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From what I've read in Wikipedia, it might have been a good idea to sit somewhere else than on the same stone of this sunbathing Austrelaps.

 

Thank you for your interest

 

Stefan

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Nice, it shows how well this beautiful animal fits into its habitat. :)

  I am always happy to see a snake . It is irrational to fear them. Although a minority of species is lethally venomous, most will not attack without  provocation and prefer to run away from human beings. The number of people killed  worldwide by snakes is a fraction of the number of people killed by mammals like hippos, predators, and elephants, reptiles like crocodiles fish like sharks and above all insects like  mosquitoes.

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I would just qualify Jaap's comments with that in Australia (where this snake is) actually more species than not are venomous. Some very much so. It's sensible to treat them all with respect and care should you encounter them

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I would just qualify Jaap's comments with that in Australia (where this snake is) actually more species than not are venomous. Some very much so. It's sensible to treat them all with respect and care should you encounter them

 

Spot on Geoff. Australia has 120 odd species of snakes and more than 100 are venomous, some highly. The copperhead above is a sloth though compared to some species. All that said far more people die of bee stings each year in Oz than snake bites.

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Spare a thought for us then, we don't have them at all, so the fear factor is even higher.

Gary

Gary are you coming to Melbourne for this Challenge? Can tell you some stories there if so Edited by hoppyman
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Snakes are plentiful in rural Australia, tigers, browns, blacks and copperheads. All but the slightly sluggish red bellied black are aggressive and will bite first and ask questions later.

The tiger is particularly dangerous as it is a bad tempered critter and, if annoyed, will rear back and strike from quite a distance away.

 

Country people (of my generation and before it became politically incorrect) generally indiscriminately hated snakes, everyone had a story or two to tell of losing dogs, horses and cattle

to snake bite and through the summer months children are at risk.

 

As kids growing up in the country we were thoroughly indoctrinated against snakes, from the age of 5 or 6 we were made to carry a standard issue snakebite emergency kit when we went

out in the paddocks every day. This kit consisted of a razor blade (one of those old double edged ones) and a bandage/tourniquet, we were given detailed instructions on how to cut the snake

bitten area and how to suck out the venom, a ridiculous and dangerous practice that is frowned upon and derided these days.   

Edited by platypus
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