Australian team wrangles 102 venomous snakes from backyard

Dozens of red-bellied black snakes were uncovered in the backyard of a home in Sydney. Photo / AFP

• Australian reptile catchers found a nest of 102 red-bellied black snakes in a Sydney backyard.
• Two female snakes gave birth in the bag they were captured in.
• Red-bellied black snakes are less venomous but can cause severe pain, nausea, and vomiting.

A team of Australian reptile catchers says it has topped the beloved children’s tale “The Hundred and One Dalmatians”, stumbling across a nest of 102 venomous snakes in a suburban backyard.

Cory Kerewaro and his team were called to catch a pair of red-bellied black snakes spotted in a pile of gardening mulch in Sydney.

They expected to wrangle “four or five” adults at most, Kerewaro told AFP on Friday, but stopped counting after pulling a “whole bunch” of baby snakes from the pile.

They initially bagged about 40 of the slithering predators to take away.

But the snakes kept coming.

“Two of the females had given birth in the bag,” Kerewaro told AFP.

“We counted them individually, one by one. We had 102 in total.

“101 Dalmatians? How about 102 redbellies!” Kerewaro posted online alongside a picture of the snakes in a knotted heap.

Red-bellied black snakes are less venomous than other Australian species, but their bite is still toxic enough to cause severe pain, nausea and vomiting.

“They are a shy snake and will generally only deliver a serious bite under severe molestation,” according to the Australian Museum.

Most would consider themselves extremely unfortunate to come across even one of the cold-blooded wrigglers.

But not Kerewaro, who said the find was unheard of in snake-catching circles.

“No one has been there at the right time and won the snake lottery. It was just the right time, right place for us.”

© Agence France-Presse