One Man's Story

When New Zealander Richard Romijn first heard about a snake handling course in Australia he was excited and a bit apprehensive about the idea of attending. Two years later he attends the course and lets snakes crawl around him - and learns an awful lot about snakes. This is his story:

My area of expertise is New Zealand lizards but I have always been fascinated by snakes. Like most Kiwis I have had little to do with snakes. My experience consisted of viewing snakes in overseas zoos and touching a python draped around a zookeeper. Despite my limited experience snakes have always fascinated me, I enjoy watching snake programmes on Animal Planet and have even got the occasional snake book from the library.

Two years ago I heard heard from a distinguished herpetologist about a venomous snake handling course in Australia. The idea excited and also scared me, but I did nothing about it. In January 2007 the thought of the course came to mind again and I decided to investigate the possibility of attending. I contacted Geoff Coombe from Living with Wildlife, in Adelaide. He advised me that there was a 2-day course available in February. I decided to attend.

The course covered a range of subjects, including effects of snake bites, first aid for snake bites, snake biology, snake behavior and how to restrain venomous snakes. It was a good mix of theory and practical activities.

Our practical snake experience began by Geoff telling us to stand up and be still. We were all dressed in boots and jeans as the Australian snakes have small fangs that are unlikely to bite through this clothing. He let venomous snakes crawl around us. It was amazing; they were not interested in us at all. They either crawled around us using our feet for traction or curled up against our feet. Geoff explained that snakes respond to movement and when we remain still they are not interested in us.

Geoff then showed us how snakes respond to movement; he moved towards the snake and immediately it tried to flee. He then kept moving in front of the snake and didn't allow it to escape. It was only when the snake couldn't flee that it tried to strike. This showed that snakes are not the aggressive killers that they are often portrayed as.

Once we became comfortable with venomous snakes we were taught the techniques for catching and bagging snakes. On the first day we mainly worked with tiger and black snakes. On the second day Geoff introduced us to the brown snake; most human fatalities caused by snakes in Australia (and there are only 3 a year) are caused by brown snakes. Brown snakes are a bit snappier than the others. But, yet again we worked through Geoff's process, bagged the snakes and came away unscathed.

This was an amazing experience and I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in snakes. It is well-organized and run by competent people who have a passion for teaching people about these amazing animals. Geoff structures his courses in such a way that although you may feel apprehensive you do not feel at risk. He also allows you to withdraw from any activities that you don't feel comfortable with.

Richard Romijn conducts research on New Zealand lizards, creates lizard educational resources and gives presentations on New Zealand reptiles. He can be contacted at richard.romijn@gw.govt.nz.