Picture: SANDRA MORELLO
A VETERAN Mount Gambier snake catcher has issued a fresh warning for people to be vigilant amid a number of snake sightings across the district.
With the mercury climbing this week, David Miles said people walking in the Crater Lakes precinct should be particularly alert given this area was a known hotspot for highly venomous snakes.
His comments follow an unbanded tiger snake dropping from a car at the Federal Hotel carpark and two snakes slithering into houses in the region.
A large lowland copperhead snake was also found under a car at a Tarpeena property on the weekend, near the home’s backdoor.
Holding a deadly lowland copperhead on a popular Crater Lakes walking trail yesterday, Mr Miles reminded people they should carry bandages and a mobile phone in the area.
But he warned snakes could also drop out of cars and crawl along gutters and drains into inner city areas.
“One thing I want to make clear to the general public is that if they walk around the Crater Lakes area there are a fair few snakes there,” Mr Miles said.
The well known snake educator also dispelled the myth the Crater Lakes precinct was home to red-bellied black snakes.
“We do not have red-bellied black snakes in the Lower South East, we get lowland copperheads,” he said.
He warned lowland copperheads were “highly venomous” and often seen in the area.
“They are the same toxicity level as the Indian Cobra. If people do not do correct first aid, they could possibly die,” Mr Miles warned.
“I always suggest people who walk around the lake should carry a bandage and a mobile phone.”
He warned lowland copperheads were a lazy species and laid in the sun to warm their body from the ambient temperature.
“They will lay out particularly about 8am or 9am to get the first sun and then later on in the afternoon about 4pm so they keep their body warm ready for hunting,” Mr Miles said.
He also warned tiger snakes were occasionally seen in the Crater Lakes precinct.
“We mainly see tiger snakes around the bottom on the Crater Lakes near the water at the Valley Lake,” he said.
While there had not been a spike of snake reports so far this summer, he warned these numbers would climb with the arrival of hot conditions.
He said he had already been called out to a number of snake sightings in recent weeks.
“My daughter got a brown snake at a property at Moorak and we got a snake out of a house at Penola, which found its way into the house via a hole in the wall,” Mr Miles said.
“I also had a phone call from a woman in Naracoorte on Sunday – she had a brown snake in her house. We have also had several call-out for snakes that we were not able to locate.”
It is estimated people only see around 2-3pc of the snakes they walk past.
“They are masters of disguise – they lay in the grass, we don’t see,” Mr Miles said.
Regarding the unbanded tiger snake discovered at the Federal Hotel car park on Sunday, Mr Miles said it was believed the reptile dropped out of a car that had travelled from Cape Douglas.
“They pulled up and saw the snake shoot across the car park,” he revealed.
He said it was not unusual for snakes to drop out of cars in city areas, which was seen at the Main Corner in Mount Gambier last summer.
Mr Miles called for people not to be alarmed over the possibility of a snake bite.
“If you pick up a newspaper every day, you will not find someone has been bitten by a snake – only occasionally,” he said.
He reminded people to lay down and remain still if they were bitten given venom travelled through the lymphatic system.
“If you are bitten, you should treat all snakes as potentially fatal,” he said.
Mr Miles revealed warned a Port MacDonnell woman was bitten by a snake last Christmas, which was fortunately a dry bite.
But he said medical help should be called immediately following any snake bite.
Mr Miles – who has been handling snakes for nearly 30 years – has never been bitten by a venomous snake.
“However, one day it probably will happen,” he said.
“I have been close to being bitten a number of times.”
He warned most people who were bitten by snakes were trying to kill the reptile.
