As temperatures rise in Australia, so too does the number of snake sightings.
Social media has seemingly been awash with photos and videos of people finding snakes in their homes and public buildings
While a tennis match at the Brisbane International was stopped in the middle of play after an eastern brown slithered its way into the court, Australians have been taking to social media to share their documented run-ins with so-called “danger noodles”.
Last week, a TikTok of a large venomous snake being removed from a public toilet in the outback Queensland town of Goondiwindi made headlines around the world.
Tennille Bankes, the local wildlife carer and snake catcher who posted the video, said the police called her to help out after some visitors to the local water park stumbled upon the serpent.
“The snake was sitting there in the toilet and they were concerned and obviously didn’t know really who to notify, so they called the police,” she told SBS News.
It was a spotted black snake, also known as the blue-bellied black snake, Bankes said.
“I got the snake out of the toilet and then released it into local bushland,” she said.
Why are there seemingly more snakes than usual?
Bankes said part of the reason some snakes are attracted to public toilets is that they can easily find food there.
“There’s lots of mosquitoes, lots of moths and things hanging around in the lights of public toilets, so the frogs go in there … that is what attracts the snakes; the snakes go in because they’re after the frogs,” she said.
The weather was another reason, Bankes said.
“We have been having a lot of rain and also a lot of hot days, so we’ve got the humidity, we’ve got the rain, which is bringing out the frogs … it’s a really ideal environment for the snakes at the moment because their food is there, they’ve got shelter there,” she said.
Bankes said toilets were also places snakes could easily find water to drink.
“Another thing that snakes actually do is, when they’re about to shed their skin, they like to soak their bodies,” she said.
“That could be another reason why they’re seeking out things like toilet bowls — because that is somewhere where they can actually submerge their entire body and that will assist them in doing what they need to do.”
As for whether snakes were appearing in Australian houses and public buildings more often than usual, Bankes said it could just be that more sightings are now being posted online.
“It is something that has always occurred,” she said.
“But I think what is happening is, as people are using social media a lot more, snake catchers and wildlife rescuers and carers alike are documenting things a lot more than what they used to.”
What should you do if you come across a snake?
Bankes said the best thing you can do if you come across a snake somewhere it shouldn’t be, like your house or a public toilet, is to leave it alone.
“Once they’ve sort of been spotted and you go away, they will try and just retreat,” she said.
“They’re not a dangerous animal, where they’re going to come after you and kill your firstborn and burn your house down — nothing like that. They’re just as scared of you as what you are of them.”
Nonetheless, you should keep your distance and call your local snake catcher, Bankes said.
“Just keep your eye on it, stay right away from it, don’t try and interfere with it whatsoever. That’s how people get bitten.”
Bankes suggested finding out who your closest snake catcher was and saving their number in your phone so you’re prepared in case you stumble upon a serpent that’s slithered its way into somewhere it shouldn’t be.
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