Aussie store in busy area 'on lock down' after alarming discovery: 'So crazy'
Customers and staff inside the Queensland store were made to evacuate and wait outside until help arrived.
Staff and shoppers at a boutique homewares store were left stunned this week when asked to evacuate after an alarming discovery was made inside — an unlikely place for a venomous and deadly eastern brown snake to explore.
A video shared online by Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers showed the "gorgeous" reptile slither through and around items at Rust in Moffat Beach, Queensland, while everyone inside, including staff, was made to leave and wait outside while it was rescued.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, professional snake handler and owner of Urban Reptile Removal Chris Williams "eastern brown snakes are the second most venomous snake in the world, and it’s the species that's responsible for most deaths in Australia".
Snake catcher Dan was called in to rescue the animal, which was "a couple of foot" long. The video shows the "baby" snake hiding behind a timber display.
"He can't actually come out of here. The brown snake is going to be cornered," he said as someone else filmed the attempted rescue. He's not going to like it. He's probably going to shoot out of there — I'd imagine he'd be very scared".
And just like that the snake whips out from behind the cabinet.
Brown snakes are known to get "easily agitated and will readily defend themselves," Williams previously said. So with care, Dan hooks onto its body before placing it in the bag.
While he might be used to seeing eastern brown snakes regularly, the snake catcher admitted it was "so crazy" to see it in store. "This is a pretty busy area. Obviously, brown snakes are on the move at the moment, and that is an absolutely stunning [snake]".
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Influx of call-outs after snake discoveries in homes
In Sydney, Williams has also been busy with an influx of call-outs across the city this month, particularly in Marsden Park, a suburb in Sydney’s west that’s undergone a rapid change since 2013, with property being transformed from farmland to tightly packed townhouses.
Most bites occur when people try to either kill or remove a snake themselves, which is why Williams, McKenzie and other train professionals like them warn against attempting to intervene.
"We only see about two deaths a year in Australia and about 60 per cent of them result from incidents with brown snakes," Australian Reptile Park’s Billy Collett previously told Yahoo. He said it's "normally from someone trying to kill or capture the snake not trained in it. That's why we say to people, even if you think you've not been bitten by a snake, put a bandage on."
Eastern browns are known for their aggression when they need to defend themselves from a predator like humans. But it’s this behaviour that makes them easy for the professionals to catch. Once captured, they're released back into the wild. All native reptiles are protected in NSW and there are restrictions on how far they can be moved because most species are territorial.
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