- Title: Snake catcher has fewer snakes to catch due to Australia bushfires
- Date: 30th December 2019
- Summary: LAWSON, BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 27, 2019) (REUTERS) RED-BELLIED BLACK SNAKE RESCUED FROM HOME IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS BEING TAKEN OUT OF GLASS CAGE NEVILLE BURNS HOLDING SNAKE RED-BELLIED BLACK SNAKE HANGING ON METAL ROD BURNS LOOKING AT SNAKE SNAKE BEING HELD BY METAL ROD BURNS WALKING OUT OF HIS HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPTILE EXPERT, NEVILLE BURNS, SAYING: "A lot of the snakes will be killed but those that survive are forced to look for water and food. So, they have to leave the burnt areas and they come up into the back yards and onto lawns and that sort of thing. We've got water bowls all around the house outside on the property just for the animals and birds. A large number would have been killed, would have been cremated in the fires because they move so quickly. But, there's going to be huge problems with our wildlife after this, without a doubt." VARIOUS OF SNAKE IN GLASS CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPTILE EXPERT, NEVILLE BURNS SAYING: "I ask the people to stand there and keep an eye on it. I point out to them that snakes have got fairly poor vision and it's attuned to movement. So, if you stand very still they don't take any notice of you. So, you don't have to hide or anything, they can just stand there and keep an eye on the snake. Because the moment you take your eyes off it, they're gone." SNAKE IN GLASS CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPTILE EXPERT, NEVILLE BURNS SAYING: "Lost my finger to a red-belly black. Declared clinically dead three times from a brown snake because I am allergic to anti-venom. So, I can’t have the anti-venom. Paralysed by two bites for a total of about seven weeks. But, apart from that it's been fine." VARIOUS OF INLAND TAIPAN SNAKE (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPTILE EXPERT, NEVILLE BURNS SAYING: "I see that there's going to be a huge destruction in the population of reptiles in the area and that applies to birds, mammals, everything. I think the damage is going to be seen for years. We're never had a mega-fire as big as the ones here. We've never had the combination of so much fuel on the ground, and no rain. I just think it's going to take years, if they do recover for the populations to recover. And as I say, the fires move so fast most of the snakes can't get out of it. If they can go deep underground into earth cracks or rabbit burrows, they may survive. But, then what do they feed on? All their food's gone. Their habitats destroyed. It's a vicious circle." VARIOUS OF BURNS HANDLING RED-BELLIED BLACK SNAKE
- Embargoed: 13th January 2020 07:41
- Keywords: bushfire escape venomous snakes
- Location: LAWSON, BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA
- City: LAWSON, BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wildfires/Forest Fires,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001BC61FT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Australia's bushfires have kept reptile expert Neville Burns very busy -- until now.
The fires have forced many wild animals and also snakes to flee where some seek refuge in people's homes and terrified people have been calling Burns to take the snakes away.
Until earlier this month, Burns said he was getting as many as four or five calls a day from people seeking to have snakes like this venomous red-bellied black snake -- removed. But these past few days, with the fires spreading rapidly, such calls have stopped and Burns is fearing for the worst.
"A lot of the snakes will be killed but those that survive are forced to look for water and food so, they have to leave burnt areas and they come up into the back yards and onto lawns and that sort of thing," he says.
"The fires move so fast most of the snakes can't get out of it. If they can go deep underground into earth cracks or rabbit burrows, they may survive. But, then what do they feed on? All their food's gone. Their habitat's destroyed. It's a vicious circle."
There are no data on how wildlife has been affected by the inferno which has destroyed more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) in five states since September. Australia's bushland is home to a range of indigenous fauna, including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats and echidnas. Officials fear that 30% of just one koala colony on the country's northeast coast, or between 4,500 and 8,400, have been lost in the recent fires.
Burns usually sets the snakes he captures free in a safe place near to where they are found. But he brings some of the more dangerous snakes home to await release in a place where they are not likely to cause harm to humans. He's got around 10 at home now.
Burns caught his first at the age of eight. Reptiles have since been his passion despite snake bite accidents which have nearly killed him and a bite which resulted in an amputated finger.
(Production: Jill Gralow, Masako Iijima) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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