Yes, Foxy is quite right - it does seem very silly to be chasing Inland
Taipans by the tail! (Which is why I had no intention of doing it - the
prof. herpos do it with style and minimal problems.) I apologise for
waxing gung-ho.
However I must say that attempting to kill an Eastern Brown Snake with a
golf club is in reality extremely dangerous, even if it has reared up in
front of you. Eastern Browns are still common around Brisbane, and of
course like all venomous snakes they cannot be tolerated where there are
children around. However, all recent deaths due to Brown Snake bite (in
this state at least) have occurred when people have attempted to kill or
capture them (no OM fanatics among them). People in some cases fail to
realise that the best and safest option for all is to let a brown snake
pass, as they are often moving through to somewhere else, and do not
intend to hang around or attack your children.
Red-bellied Blacks have caused no recorded deaths in Australia - one
possible death quite a while back. Your story about Tigers hunting
people is interesting. I'm not doubting you, but I must say that in many
cases the snake is doing something which is misinterpreted, a good
example being a fleeing and panicked snake racing back past the person
who has startled it, leading to claims of being chased. A snake like an
Eastern Brown is a very nervous animal though, and will definitely have
a go at someone if agitated (depending on escape options, its
temperature, its mood, its skin condition and whether its unhappy about
the lack of snake mates). We get a wide range of "interesting" snake
stories here at the Qld Museum, and many of them are cases of people in
a panic misinterpreting an animal's behaviour.
The press up here recently glorified the case of a sugar cane farmer
trashing a monster taipan with a lump of sugar cane. Very irresponsible
for a paper to highlight such dangerous behaviour, particularly when
children may copy such behaviour. If a snake must be caught, it needs to
be done by a professional, if it must be killed, then bashing it with
anything at all is very unwise.
My apologies if I sounded flippant, I do not just grab a snake for
photography, and have passed many fine venomous snakes in the bush
rather than upset them by moving closer for a photo. If the chance
presents itself for a safe photo, they can be fascinating subjects.
Cheers all
Robert Ashdown
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