man discovers 102 venomous snakes in western sydney backyard
A man in western Sydney discovered 102 red-bellied venomous snakes in his backyard, prompting a call to snake catchers to safely remove them.
A man was left with "shivers" after he found 102 venomous snakes in the backyard of his western Sydney home.
David Stein called for help after discovering around six red-bellied snakes on a mulch pile in his Horsley Park backyard last week.
"I saw a pile of snakes on the mulch pile ... which gave me the shivers," Mr Stein told Sunrise.
"By the time I got my camera, they went into the pile of mulch.
"It was terrifying."
After Mr Stein's wife learned that female snakes often gather before giving birth, the couple contacted snake catchers from Reptile Relocation Sydney.
Reptile Relocation Sydney owner Corey Kerewaro informed NewsWire that snake catcher Dylan Cooper was dispatched, only to uncover 102 snakes hiding in the mulch.
"Within a few minutes, we knew this was going to be unusual," the business wrote on Facebook.
"Snake after snake, they just kept being uncovered."
Red-bellied snakes are venomous, with the Australian Museum indicating nausea, vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain, and muscle weakness as symptoms of envenomation.
Mr Kerewaro mentioned it was the "most venomous snakes in the one spot at the one time" he had encountered.
"Pretty bizarre," Mr Kerewaro said. "In nature it'd be really common, it's just that we physically don't see it -- we're just the lucky ones that come across it."
He described the mulch pile as "perfect conditions" for the snakes, which had likely been there for about a month.
According to Mr Kerewaro, there were approximately 36 babies and four adults in the pile, with the total reaching 102 after some snakes gave birth while being contained.
"They do give birth to quite a high number of babies," he stated. "The chance of survival for those babies is very, very low."
He urged the public to be "snake aware" and advised against attempting to handle snakes. "They're not bad as long as people are snake aware and they don't mess with them," he said. "If they are near the house and must be removed, call a catcher and get some advice."
