But while there are only a couple of deaths each year, it's estimated there are about 3,000 snakebites in Australia annually.
According to statistics found on www.bobcoopersurvival.com the old adage “its more scared of you, than you are of it” couldn't ring more true, where 90% of the approximately 3000 bites a year in Australia are on people trying to catch the snake.
According to the most conservative estimates, at least 81,000 snake envenomings and 11,000 fatalities occur in India each year, making it the most heavily affected country in the world. The Malayan pit viper and banded krait are two other species involved in a significant number of venomous bites.
There are around 3,000 snakebites in Australia each year, with recent figures showing around 550 hospitalisations and an average of two deaths per annum. While 57% of snakebites happen in regional and rural areas – not in cities – the majority happen near homes or buildings.
"Including the brown, tiger, black, taipan, death adder and certain sea snakes and all these snakes are found in Queensland," Mr Farry said. "Most Australian snake bites are associated with minimal local pain and bite marks can be easily missed."
Australia's snake season generally hits between September and April as they start to venture out looking for food or a mate, but this can be brought forward if the end of winter and start of spring are unseasonably warm.
The killer of the most people
The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) may be the deadliest of all snakes, since scientists believe it to be responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined.
The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.
Typically, snake bite victims tend to be young males, between 11 and 19 years old, who are bitten on the hand while trying to pick up the snake. People attempting to take a “selfie” with the snake are at high risk of being bitten.
In Australia, snakes sometimes slither into suburban backyards and homes. When the weather gets warm, they lounge in the sun.
We have noted at Walkabout Park that most kangaroos bitten by snakes are hand-raised kangaroos. We have seen a disproportionately larger number of hand-raised kangaroos bitten, relative to wild raised kangaroos.
Snakes often get a bad reputation. While they will probably never be cuddly to most people, including me, there's one thing for sure. They are extremely important to the Australian ecosystem. Without them, many animals, especially rodents, can breed out of control.
Snakes can bite you underwater, but usually only if they're provoked or if they feel threatened. In the Tropical Journal of Medicine and Hygiene, researchers studied 100 sea-snake bite patients who visited a local hospital. They found that over 80% of patients were fishermen who had been in the water.
Another vibrational snake deterrent is Raidar which emits a variety of sounds and vibrations every 50 seconds. What's great about Raidar is the vibrations change every 2 days making this a popular snake repellant in Australia.
Snakes can be found all over Australia, not only in the Outback. However, you will hardly see them. On all my trips I only saw a few snakes and I nearly stepped on one when I was walking along the Eyre Highway, see the picture above (at least I thought it was a snake at that time). But this won't happen every day.
But the blue coral snake (Calliophis bivirgata) is different. These beautifully coloured snakes from South East Asia and have a venom that's so powerful, it can trigger all of the victim's nerves to fire at once, instantly trigging full body spasms, paralysis, and a quick, horrifying death.
African bush vipers are small reptiles known for their dorsal scales that give them a dragon-like appearance. There is no antivenom for the African bush viper, and bites can cause fevers or internal bleeding, which can be fatal.
Introducing the most venomous snake in the world and epic predator of the Australian outback! The inland taipan is otherwise known as the fierce snake or small scaled snake.
A king cobra would win a fight against a taipan. The taipan has much deadlier venom, but that's not going to save it against the great amount of experience that king cobras have in attacking snakes. Neither snake lives in the same area of the world and they're from different families.
An unlikely tale, perhaps—yet Ireland is unusual for its absence of native snakes. It's one of only a handful of places worldwide—including New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica—where Indiana Jones and other snake-averse humans can visit without fear.
Rule Number 1: Don't Try To Outrun A Snake
Not because your kid can't — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.
Use Natural Predators
Foxes and raccoons are common predators of snakes. Guinea hens, turkeys, pigs, and cats will also help keep snakes away.
introduced predators such as foxes, dogs and cats. snakes being run over on roads. the indiscriminate killing of snakes by people who fear or dislike them. Many harmless snakes, and even legless lizards, are killed unnecessarily in this way.
Do Dogs Keep Snakes Away? Yes, big dogs especially can be a deterrent to snakes. They bark loudly and are much larger than snakes, so they will typically choose to stay away.