their way through the Vinnies back storage shed following reports by a staff member they
had seen a snake. Unfortunately the snake was not found.
While snake season usually begins
around October and November in Australia,
the warm weather of late has brought
out snakes earlier this year in Cobar with
multiple sightings of snakes over the past
week.
Lady golfers had to contend with three
snakes on the course on Saturday, two residents
came across a snake at the cemetery on
Sunday, walkers reported seeing a snake go
into a front yard in Belagoy Street last
Wednesday and Vinnies staff called in experienced
snake handlers from the Peak Gold
Mine to help them after they spotted a snake
in their back storage shed.
The Cobar Weekly has previously spoken to
local accredited snake handler Jonathan Harvey
for advice about snakes.
Mr Harvey said a number of snakes, including
the second most dangerous land snake,
the eastern brown snake, can be found in the
Cobar area.
“They are big snakes and can get up to
about two to two and a half metres.
“Around Cobar we have the yellow faced
whip, it grows up to about 1.2 metres, and
the diameter of your little finger and is commonly
mistaken for a brown snake because
of the look of them,” Mr Harvey said.
There’s also the inland carpet python, the
southern death adder, the bandy bandy
snake, the king brown (or mulga snake) and
western brown snakes.
“The western will only grow from 1.5 to
1.8 metres, it’s a smaller snake with smaller
fangs, and venom wise, it’s not as dangerous.
They deliver a lot but it’s not as toxic as
the eastern. The eastern is the top of the
chain and then the king brown or the mulga
snake,” Mr Harvey explained.
When confronted with a snake Mr Harvey
recommends staying away from them.
“Stay out of the way, don’t approach.
“We never advocate people using a stick or
a shovel or whatever, you might miss, fall or
slip. Just leave it alone and wait for it to
move away,” he said.
Mr Harvey recommends doing a check
around your yard to ensure you are not
providing a cool dark spot for snakes to
hide.
He said to be wary of areas like under
wheelie bins, dog dishes, children’s toys,
flowerpots, under bushes, wood heaps and
anywhere they might feel protected and covered.
