Reported yesterday
Whether you love them or are terrified of them, snakes are a part of daily life in Australia.
However, one Sydney homeowner got the shock of a lifetime when what he thought was a couple of red-bellied black snakes turned out to be a nest of over 100 reptiles.
More than 100 red-bellied black snakes were found in a backyard in Horsley Park.
To totally gross you out there is a video embedded in the story. I’ll post a link in the comments.
More than 100 red-bellied black snakes were found in a backyard in Horsley Park. Credit: Reptile Relocation Sydney
The homeowner had spotted a few adult snakes near a mulch pile in his Horsley Park backyard, and decided to call in Reptile Relocation Sydney.
The business’ owner Cory Kerewaro deployed snake catcher Dylan Cooper to check it out. When he arrived and began sifting through the mulch pile, he quickly located the five adult snakes.
“Then one baby came, out another came, and snake after snake kept coming,” Kerewaro said.
What they thought would be a routine snake pickup turned into a three-hour job, with 40 snakes found.
After leaving the property, Cooper pulled over to check on the snakes and made an amazing discovery – the adults had given birth to even more baby snakes, bringing the total to around 70.
“By the time he brought them to my house to check them over, more had given birth, it brought the number to 102. It’s pretty crazy,” Kerewaro said.
More than 100 venomous snakes removed from Sydney yard
More than 100 venomous snakes removed from Sydney yard
0:30
More than 100 venomous snakes removed from Sydney yard
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Snake catchers caught and removed 102 red bellied black snakes from a mulch pile in a Sydney backyard.
Kerewaro was stuck at a different job at the time, and is disappointed to miss what was a company record for the most snakes captured in one outing.
“I got FOMO – fear of missing out,” he said.
“Both of us were pumped, it’s like winning the snake lottery for us.”
Snake catchers are required by law to release snakes in a suitable habitat as close as possible to where they are found. However, given the huge scale of this find, Kerewaro was granted special permission to take the reptiles to a national park for release.
He plans to release the group as soon as possible, but wanted to wait for a day when temperatures would only reach a maximum of 27 degrees so as not to put the snakes in heat stress.
Red-bellied black snakes are the only snake of its genus, pseudechis, to give live birth. Females give birth to between five and 18 live young enclosed in a membranous sac, according to the Australian Museum.
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While the extraordinary number of snakes found in this instance is unusual, females are known to congregate during the late stages of their pregnancy and will share a nighttime hideout with other pregnant red-bellies.
Though highly venomous, red-bellied black snakes aren’t aggressive towards humans unless provoked. There have been no recorded human deaths from red-bellied black snake bites.
The venom can cause necrosis – especially if bitten on the finger – and bite victims can suffer headaches, abdominal pain, swelling, bleeding. Bites can be treated with antivenom.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/snake-after-snake-kept-coming-100-red-bellied-black-snakes-removed-from-sydney-backyard-20250207-p5lacb.html
“Both of us were pumped, it’s like winning the snake lottery for us.”
What a story! You’ve really exceeded your own (very high) snaky standards with this one, Junior.
It’s bedtime in Sweden but I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep with the thought of 102 red-bellied black snakes wriggling round in my mulch pile!!
The moral of this story is, don’t have a mulch pile.
If you don’t want to give Rupert even more money, here’s another link.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-07/red-bellied-snakes-found-western-sydney-backyard/104908510
Erm yes -* stares at rather large woodpile in yard.*
Just read this and I see some glitches with the paste. But you get the idea. A shitload of venomous snakes.
Glitchy paste – hate the stuff
Many thanks to you, Junior and Mike, for sharing detail of the story of The Monsters of the Mulch Pile.
I was keen to know the scientific name for fear of snakes.
ophidiophobia
This also covers the more specific anxiety: fear of snakes in the toilet.
You’d think they’d have a special word for that. bogophidiophobia or loophidiophobia
I also wanted to know the collective noun for a group of snakes.
I found this answer by Carrie Gardner on Quora:
“They can be called a den, bed, pit, or nest. However, rattlesnakes are different and are called rhumbas. It’s important to note that snakes only congregate in groups for winter brumation (or hibernation) or in “breeding balls”, where the female secretes a “Come On Boys” pheromone that attracts males from all over in hopes that they may be the one.
Snakes, for the most part, are solitary animals that have no need to be in the company of other snakes, unless it’s winter, then they make a den or a den or rhumba because there is more warmth with lots of snakes crammed in together.”
https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-group-of-snakes-called
So now we know that such a large gathering of these very solitary reptiles is very unusual.
I imagine that it’s called a rhumba for rattlesnakes because of the maracas like appendage on their tail. When snakes congregate together for warmth it is known as kleptothermy, (I saw it as part of one of the questions in yesterday’s crossword).
In January 2011, there was a suggestion that there should be a 13th zodiac sign Ophiuchus, the snake bearer, which corresponds to the dates between November 30 and December 18 so despite having ophidiophobia it is possible I’m a Ὀφιοῦχος.
This was on the BBC news channel, with one of those simpering ‘look away now’ warnings that just encourages the easily led to go ‘Oh my Gaaaahd!’ and indulge in facial contortion. How to ensure unnecessary cruelty to innocent snakes everywhere. The Beeb really has dumbed down to the nth degree.
Unsurprisingly, there’s quite an industry in snake relocation. But it turns out that it’s not great news for snakes.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/104911088?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link
While we’re here. A taipan, as nasty as they sound has struck a woman as she walked up the back steps. 26 snake bites since December , probably due to heavy rains.
Toodle pip !
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/north-queensland-woman-serious-after-deadly-taipan-bite/104919014?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link
What a nightmare story, Junior! A taipan bite is horrifically bad news.
I hope that Aussie schoolkids are properly taught about this stuff. Then again, how can you teach about the taipan without scaring the shit out of the poor little sods??