A Sydney man has said he was “totally amazed” when snake catchers removed a bumper haul of 102 venomous snakes from a single spot in his backyard.
David Stein called in snake relocators after seeing what he estimated were six red-bellied black snakes on a large mulch pile on his property in the western Sydney suburb of Horsley Park on Friday.
“I was shivering and shaking at the time I saw them,” he said. “Then my wife googled and found that snakes congregate like that when they’re ready to give birth.”
Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney, dispatched his catcher, Dylan Cooper, to the site where he found five adults, four of which were “gravid” – carrying eggs internally.
He then began finding “baby after baby” in the mulch.
“He was just uncovering baby after baby after baby. It was just totally amazing, I just couldn’t believe it,” Stein said.
With the help of Stein’s son, the trio eventually found around 40 snakes, only for four of the adults to give birth during the relocation process.
“There were 40 snakes, then 70, then 90,” said Kerewaro.
On final count, there were five adult females and 97 babies.
“The quantity is a shock. We do have red-belly snakes in the backyard – you’ll see one slither away into the creek – but not a great deal,” said Stein.
The snakes are venomous, especially to young children and small animals because of their size, but are generally considered placid. Envenomation symptoms include bleeding and swelling at the bite site, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, sweating and local or general muscle pain and weakness, according to the Australian Museum.
Kerewaro said he once pulled 14 baby snakes from a wall cavity, but that Cooper now held the company – if not a state or national – record for most snakes caught on a single job.
He said it was common for female red-bellies to share birthing sites, “but actually being there and the babies being born, I haven’t seen anything like that. It’s a highlight”.
He said he is in touch with academics who are using data from the case in their research.
“We’re contributing to helping people understand these animals – it’s pretty rewarding.”
By law, the snakes must be released within 20km of the capture site. On advice from national parks, a remote area had been chosen for the release of the 102 reptiles.
After Stein’s dog was bitten by a juvenile red-bellied black in December, he said it was a “relief” the snakes were no longer making his yard their home, but also happy “they’ll be released into the wild in a safe environment and preserved”.
He said the final tally would climb from 102 because one female was yet to give birth.
