Mum's horror as deadly intruder found lurking centimetres from baby
Here's exactly what to do if this terrifying encounter happens to you.
An Aussie mum and her tiny baby who were "out enjoying a morning walk" were given the fright of a lifetime after stumbling across one of the most venomous animals on the planet in their very own backyard.
It wasn't the first time the mum, who lives in Cooroy, west of Noosa, had come across a slithering intruder in her yard, according to Dan Rumsey of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, but she was "pretty keen" on removing the red-bellied black snake as quick as possible.
"They're actually one of the most toxic snakes on the entire planet," Mr Rumsey told Yahoo News Australia. "In saying that, there's never been a recorded death from a red bellied black snake — that's not to say there hasn't been one, but none on record.
"She was telling me all about the other snake species she'd found on her property, like she was rattling them all off, the one's that she'd seen."
Mr Rumsey said the woman actually remained strangely calm during the ordeal.
"They had a really beautiful property, obviously with a young child they just much preferred not to have a red-bellied black snake in their garden," Mr Rumsey joked.
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The experienced snake catcher, who had previously worked in zoos before turning to his current profession, said the deadly serpents are actually extremely common and found in a wide range of locations throughout northern Queensland.
What to do if bitten by a red-bellied black snake
He said, if on the rare occasion a person was to get bitten, it could kill them in a matter of hours if left untreated.
"It all depends on the many different variables, the individual, the amount of venom," Mr Rumsey said.
"But if you didn't manage the bite correctly, without the appropriate first aid and you didn't seek immediate medical attention, you'd have hours. I mean, it's like with most things, as long as you seek the appropriate first aid treatment, it'd be fine."
Should a person come across one, the best advice would be, according to Mr Rumsey, is to stand "nice and still" and wait for the snake to respond, then calmly back away.
"People hear this and think, just got to freeze forever," he said. "That's not the case, if you're right on top of the snake, obviously, you don't want to move around too much because they will react, just stand still and let the snake move away.
"In the video I talk about how the snake's like doing this defensive posturing stuff, so like rattlesnakes are the best example of that. They'll shake their rattle as a way to warn you off.
"A lot of our snakes will do similar kind of behaviours as well.It's like a blue-tongue sticking out its big tongue out to scare you off. Brown snakes will rear up in that iconic 's' position, red-bellied black snakes or tiger snakes will flatten their neck out and turn their body.
"So they'll even kind of give you a warning that you're getting too close."
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