Eastern Brown Snake equals King Brown Snake, right? Wrong. As a Victorian snake catcher, I hear a lot of people who claim that they saw a King Brown (Pseudechis australis) snake while out fishing or on their property, etc. Having seen one enormous brown coloured snake while on a recent photography trip, I get why people think that a big brown snake would be a “King Brown”. To a lot of people, it may not matter what kind of snake they see. A snake is a snake... However, in the case of being bitten by one, correct identification may result in the correct anti-venom being used. In Victoria this isn’t an issue, as we don’t have King Browns. If you were to travel to any other state though, and get bitten by an Eastern Brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), there could be issues if you I.D. the snake to medical staff as a King Brown (Pseudechis australis). If they were to administer anti-venom to you for the wrong snake, it may or may not have fatal results, but it may not be effective enough to stop the venom from damaging organs. The King Brown, better known as the Mulga Snake, is a member of the Black snake family Pseudechis (like the Red-bellied Black Snake “Pseudechis porphyriacus”). It covers the whole of Australia except for the south-eastern states and the southernmost coastline. The longest specimen on record measured 3.3 metres, buy they average at about 2 metres. The Mulga feeds mainly on reptiles and frogs with the occasional bird or mammal. They are also known to eat bird and reptile eggs, insects and carrion. This snake lays an average clutch of 9 eggs, but can lay 4-19. They will bite readily if provoked, and their venom can cause a broad range of issues including blood cell, muscle tissue and nerve damage (and ultimately death) if treatment is not sought immediately for a bite. The Eastern Brown snake is a member of the Pseudonaja family (Pseudo = false, naja =Cobra as it was once explained to me). This snake is restricted to about 1/3 of the Australian continent, covering the 3 easternmost mainland states and extending into N.T. and S.A. The largest specimen measured at 2.4 metres. The average length is approx 1.5 metres. The diet of the Eastern Brown consists of reptiles and frogs, reptile eggs, birds and mammals. They consume a large amount of introduced rats and mice and have been known to eat small introduced rabbits. Females lay an average of 15 eggs but can produce a clutch of up to 25-35 (depending on which website you’re reading from ). They will bite readily if provoked, but their venom contains mainly neurotoxins and procoagulants, effecting the blood and brain... The reality is, any snake that is seen and avoided is a safe snake. They are just like any other wild animal. Their world is Big eats small. Chase and eat the smaller animal, flee and defend against the bigger animal. So leave them alone and they won’t have to defend themselves. Photo credits: Troy Hovenden (photo 1 Mulga studio shot), Chimerapro Nathan (photo 3 Mulga habitat shot), Dominic Winchester (photo 5 Mulga head shot), Steve McNeil (photos 2, 4 & 6 Eastern Brown shots). Chimerapro Nathan: chimeraproductionswildlife.au and FB page is facebook/chimeraproNG
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 06:30:39 +0000
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