So you think it’s the snakes?
Eastern Brown Snake
Recently, news services have been making hay about a spate of venomous snakebites in New South Wales. However, they have neglected to tell the stories behind the bites. Research conducted on humans and snakes in that state (using Eastern Brown and Red-Bellied Black Snakes) has demonstrated people are 20 times more likely to approach and 100 times more likely to attack a snake than vice versa.
In fact, researchers observed only 0.38% of snakes attempted to ‘attack’ people (self-defence, in the eyes of the snake), whilst public questionnaires revealed 38% of people attacked snakes! A startling contrast.
And yet, people think it’s the snakes who are dangerous?
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Australia has produced more species of snake than marsupial, in one sixth of the time.