A deadly tiger snake every eight metres... - FaunaClassifieds
FaunaClassifieds  
  Tired of those Google and InfoLink ads? Upgrade Your Membership!
  Inside FaunaClassifieds » Photo Gallery  
 

Go Back   FaunaClassifieds > Reptile & Amphibian - General Discussion Forums > Herps In The News

Notices

Herps In The News Local or national articles where reptiles or amphibians have made it into the news media. Please cite sources.

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
Old 06-04-2018, 02:35 PM   #1
bcr229
A deadly tiger snake every eight metres...

Love the advice for tourists at the end of the article. Here's some from me: go sunbathe somewhere else!

A deadly tiger snake every eight metres: Inside the tiny Australian island infested with aggressive reptiles - and they've adapted to survive without water

By Brittany Chain For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 12:03 EDT, 3 June 2018 | Updated: 18:13 EDT, 3 June 2018

A tiny island less than a quarter the size of Bondi Beach has become a breeding ground for deadly tiger snakes.

Minuscule Carnac Island, just off the coast of Perth on Australia's west coast, is home to at least 400 of the ultra-aggressive reptiles.

Discovered by a French explorer in 1803, the island was used as a prison to hold Indigenous Australians before being turned into a quarantine station.

Now, it's the safe haven for a thriving population of tiger snakes, who enjoy the luxury of having no predators on the island.

There is approximately three tiger snakes to every 25 square metres - which equates to one of the deadly reptiles every few steps.

Snakes share their home with sea lions, dolphins and an array of marine and bird wildlife.

While there is no permanent fresh water supply, the snakes have, scarily so, adapted to the conditions and survive with minimal water.

While there is no evidence as to how the snakes initially arrived to the area, it is rumoured that a man named Lindsay 'Rocky' Vane dumped his tiger snake collection on the island in 1929 after his first wife died of a tiger snake bite.

In November 2006, David Attenborough visited the island with a BBC film crew to record a reptile documentary.

The snakes should not be approached under any circumstances, and are the fifth most venomous in the world

Attenborough noted that majority of the island's snakes were in fact blind.

This is caused by birds defending their chicks by pecking at the snakes' eyes.

In contrast to what one would expect of a blind animal, the snakes were not negatively impacted by their blindness, simply relying more heavily upon scent, feasting on immobile prey.

Carnac island is thus far the only place that Attenborough has noticed this.

'In terms of island snakes, this is probably one of the densest populations in the world,' Animal Plant Mineral biologist Dr Mitchell Ladyman told Nine News.

Tourists visiting the island are urged to stay on the beach, and to under no conditions approach the vegetation without shoes on.
 
 


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Reptile News: Lucky escape from deadly 'toy' snake jasonw Herps In The News 0 12-16-2010 12:42 PM
Caller reports deadly snake missing wcreptiles Herps In The News 1 03-28-2008 10:08 PM
Snake-bitten Eastsider loses his deadly pets shrap Herps In The News 3 11-15-2006 09:09 AM
Man Bitten By Deadly Green Mamba Snake Clay Davenport Herps In The News 5 06-15-2005 12:20 PM
Lawyer, son guilty of mailing deadly snake DThomas Herps In The News 5 01-30-2004 10:48 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:11 AM.







Fauna Top Sites


Powered by vBulletin® Version
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.07128000 seconds with 11 queries
Content copyrighted ©2002-2022, FaunaClassifieds, LLC