The Australian Reptile Park has just issued an urgent warning as venomous snakes are being sighted in our region as the weather warms up
The public has been warned to exercise caution and learn appropriate first aid as snake season hits.
And the experts at Australian Reptile Park should know, they save hundreds of lives yearly through antivenom program.
With Spring arriving, our region has begun heating up and during the last few days the region has seen an early increase of snake sightings.
With Aussie families in lockdown spending their weekends bushwalking for their outdoor exercise, the likelihood of coming into contact with Australia’s dangerous snakes has increased exponentially.
The warm weather has created the perfect environment for snakes to begin emerging from the hibernation they undertook throughout the cooler months. As a result, The Australian Reptile Park is calling for the public to exercise extreme caution when enjoying the incoming warmer weather.
Home to the world’s most venomous snakes, Australia sees approximately 3000 snake bites occur per year, of which around 300 receive antivenom and on average, one or two bites prove fatal.
The Reptile Park is the only facility in Australia that milks venomous terrestrial snakes for their venom to help produce antivenom.
Calling on public awareness, bite prevention and safety, Reptile Keeper Jake Meney said: “As it’s only just the beginning of Spring, there’s no better time than right now to brush up on your snake bite first aid.”
“It’s important that all Australians know our slithery friends do not go out of their way to harm humans. Snake bites mostly occur when people are trying to catch or kill the snake, so if you don’t do either of those things you should be okay.
“However, it is important to know the correct first aid technique, so if the worst-case scenario occurs you are prepared.”
First aid for snake ites includes keeping the bite victim calm and immobile, removing all jewelry and watches, applying a pressure-immobilisation bandage to the bite site, then bandaging the entire limb, not just the bite area and seeking emergency medical assistance immediately by calling an ambulance or going directly to hospital.
“By applying the pressure-immobilisation bandage, venom cannot easily spread through the body, slowing down the envenomation process by giving more time for the bite victim to seek antivenom at hospital” Mr Meney said.
The Reptile Park houses more 250 of the world’s most venomous snakes. The snakes are milked fortnightly by the venom keepers, as part of the Park’s venom program for the production of antivenom. Some of Australia’s deadliest snakes milked as a part of the program include taipans, eastern brown snakes, king brown snakes, tiger snakes, death adders, and black snakes.
Being bitten is a serious event. Depending on the species of venomous snake, a bite could destroy blood cells, cause blood clots, or excessive bleeding and destroy tissue.
If not correctly treated with first aid immediately, a fatality can be as quick as 30 minutes, depending on the amount of venom injected by the snake, toxicity level of the venom and the type of snake.
More information at www.reptilepark.com.au
