An extremely venomous snake was caught trying to mate with a garden hose at a residential property in Australia. The snake catcher said the male eastern brown "must have been confused" after finding another smaller snake nearby.
"When we arrived at a call for a big brown snake, Richie straight away spotted a healthy Eastern Brown Snake mating with the garden hose!!!" a Facebook post from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7. "At a closer look, we found a darker Eastern Brown Snake next to it, and he must have been confused with the garden hose being right next to them."
Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, based in Queensland, regularly posts photos and videos from their callouts, with many of their social media posts showing interactions with deadly species getting thousands of views.
In their latest post, the team visited a house after the resident spotted two snakes in her garden. The snake catcher went to the bushes near the pool when he saw what the snake was doing.
Mating Eastern Browns + Third-wheel Garden Hose too?!? 😯When we arrived at a call for a big Brown Snake, Richie straight away spotted a healthy Eastern...
"He's mating with the hose," he says in the video. "I think there's a second snake there, but he's mating with the hose as opposed to the snake ... they're getting confused with the hose and mating with the hose."
He then picks up the eastern brown snake with his bare hands and puts it into a bag. The other, smaller snake vanishes into the undergrowth. "Oh well we've got the big one," the snake catcher can be heard saying.
Eastern brown snakes are the most deadly species of snake in Australia. They are found across eastern Australia, having benefited hugely from land being cleared for agriculture, which brought a ready supply of rodents for them to eat.
Because they thrive in developed areas, eastern brown snakes tend to come into conflict with humans more than any other species and react defensively if disturbed. Their venom is highly potent and can lead to paralysis and uncontrollable bleeding.
Breeding activity for the species starts in spring, lasting from around mid-September through to the end of November, according to the Australian Museum. In captivity, they have been observed copulating for at least four hours.
The "confused" snake, which was just over five feet long, was then taken away and released back into the wild. "No doubt we will be back at that property for the other one soon... and not for the hose," the company posted to Facebook.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Hannah Osborne is Nesweek's Science Editor, based in London, UK. Hannah joined Newsweek in 2017 from IBTimes UK. She is ... Read more
