A Queensland snake catcher has debunked some of the most persistent and damaging myths about one of Australia's most vilified serpents.
The eastern brown snake is the second-most venomous snake in the world, one of the most commonly encountered in Australian suburbs and backyards, and has developed a reputation for aggression.
But as Stu from Sunshine Snake Catchers explained in a video on the company's Facebook page, there's nothing an eastern brown wants to do less than chase a human.
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"These snakes want nothing to do with us, and if you respect them, and give them the distance they deserve, then you'll have no issue with them," he said.
The video shows Stu carrying out a number of brown snake catches, many with the snake in question fearful and curled into a classic S-shaped defensive posture, ready to strike.
But as Stu demonstrates, given the chance, the snakes all much prefer to flee than to fight, not even trying to lunge at him when he has them safely caught by the tail.
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One that he released into the wild Stu even filmed slithering between his legs as he stood motionless, showing how willing the snakes are to accept a non-threatening person as something to ignore.
"The main messages from this video are that snakes will not attack you, they will not chase you, and they are not aggressive," Stu said.
He said the trouble started when people tried to catch, kill or chase snakes themselves.
"If you mess with them, they will get defensive, trust me, they will defend themselves with their lives," he said.
He urged anybody who needed to have a snake moved to leave it alone and contact a professional catcher.
