But I
couldn't help myself and made the page anyway, because the snake is so notoriously poisonous.
Oxyuranus
microlepidotus
is also called firece
snake and
small scaled snake, and it is the
most poisonous snake in Australia, as well as the most
poisonous snake in the world.
Ironically, then, it is also one
of the shyest and does everything it can to get out of
your way, not even eager to bite when provoked (it finally will).
What Does It Look Like?
It is a dark
snake
with colouration varying from black
to brown,
with a
seasonal adaptation of changing its colour to lighter during the hotter, and darker during the cooler months.
The longest reported specimen was 2.5 metres however a more common
length is about 1.7
metres.
The head and neck are
often darker than the rest of the body, allowing the snake
to heat itself with only head exposed (the same adaptation as the
harmless black
headed
python's).
Inland taipan can look similar to eastern brown snake and western brown
snake.
Where Is It Found?
The inland taipan is not found in Cape York
(I just wanted to include this snake as it is the most poisonous in
Australia as well as in the world. We do have the coastal taipan).
Like its name says, it
is found in the inland, more exactly in south western
Queensland, south eastern Northern Territory, and north eastern South
Australia.
It is particularly known to be found in black soil areas
where the borders of the three states meet.
It is also known to be associated with soil cracks and rock crevices where it hides
as there is not much vegetation in its range.
It can also live in burrows
of other animals.
They are not very easy
to come across as they don't spend a lot of time above the
ground during the day time.
In cooler months they show a bit more surface activity,
but during the hot months they are only active in early mornings and
stay under the ground the rest of the day.
Diet and Hunting
The main
diet of the inland taipan is small
mammals,
mainly rodents and dasyurids.
Prey is commonly cornered in a soil crack or burrow, and then striked,
with multiple bites
(most other Australian poisonous
snakes only deliver one).
The extremely toxic venom
kills the small prey instantly.
The numbers of inland taipans fluctuate with prey numbers - in good
years with lots of rain and lots of food there are lots of them, while
during drought years and diminishing prey numbers the inland taipans
also disappear.
Mating and Breeding
The males
can fight, the mating
occurs in the end of
winter (our Dry Season), and the female lays a clutch of
about 10-20 eggs
a few months later, in a soil crack or abandoned burrow.
The eggs take about 10 weeks before they hatch and the newly born hatclings are almost
half a metre long.
Bite, Venom and Treatment
Unlikely
its more aggressive cousin the coastal
taipan, the inland taipan is a shy snake and will
do its best to get out of your way.
However, if cornered,
it does come to the point where it defends
itself like any other animal would do.
First it makes a warning
signal, holding itself in S-shape while stearing at the
offender.
If that is ignored it strikes, and unlike most other Australian
venomous snakes, it can deliver multiple
bites.
Its toxin
is more venomous
than any other snake's in the world, by far.
It mainly consists of neurotoxins,
and the symptoms
include abdominal
pain,
vomiting, nausea,
headache,
collapse
and paralysis.
The good news is, the
world's most toxic snake is far from the most deadly.
No human fatalities
have occured thanks to antivenom.
Coastal
Taipan Snake
Coastal
Taipan is the largest venomous snake in Australia.
It is a
bit less venomous
than
its cousin the
inland taipan, but it is more
aggressive, and unlike the inland taipan it is found in
Cape
York.
Also unlike the inland species the coastal one has been recorded killing people,
as recently as in November 2012 (and probably later by the time you
read this), when the Ergon Energy worker Andrew Vaughan was bitten
while
working with a backhoe operator in dense Lantana bush - one of the
snake's favourite habitats.
What Does It Look Like?
It is a large snake - the
largest poisonous snake in
Australia.
Three metre
individuals have been
recorded, however one and a half to two metre specimens are much more
common.
The body is
strong but
slender.
It is most often olive to reddish brown,
but may also be grey or almost black.
The sides of the body
are lighter
in colour, and the belly
is
cream, yellowish or light grey, sometimes with pink or orange dots.
The head,
particularly the snout,
is lighter in colour
than the body -
many other snakes have darker head instead.
Another distinguishing characteristic is the relatively big head,
rectangular shaped as
opposed to the neck.
Like some other snakes, coastal taipans have the seasonal change of
lighter colouring
during the hotter, and darker colouring during the cooler months
(helping thermoregulation).
It can be confused with a
few other
poisonous snakes, such as Eastern Brown, Western Brown,
and King
Brown snake.
Where Is It Found?
It is
found in the southern
Papua New Guinea and the coastal
regions of eastern and northern Australia, which include
the whole Cape York
peninsula
(also the whole Top End of Northern Territory and almost the whole
Kimberley region, elsewhere narrower coastal regions between Derby in
the west and about the Queensland-New South Wales border in the east).
Its distrubution covers the area where Australia's wettest and hottest climate
overlap (south of
the Kimberleys is too dry, south of northern NSW it's too cool).
It lives in many different habitats
such as moonsoon forest, open and closed forest, heath and open
woodland (the latter particularly in Cape York).
It is
also
known to be seen at unused rubbish
tips, in grazing paddocks and lantana
thickets, and particularly in sugar
cane fields where it feeds on small rodents.
Like many other snakes it shelters in hollow
logs and abandoned animal
burrows.
When Is It Around?
They are active all the year around,
but most
common to see during the late Dry Season (about August to November).
They are mostly active
day time
(particularly early to mid mornings and early evenings) but may become
nocturnal during the hottest part of the year.
Diet and Hunting
Coastal
taipans eat small mammals,
as their venom is
adapted to warm
blooded animals.
When hunting,
it moves around
with its head raised, using eyesight to look for prey.
When it sees a small rodent, quoll or bandicoot,
it first freezes and then moves quickly forward, delivering multiple
bites.
Its toxin collapses the prey's nervous system so it cannot move, and
makes its blood really thin so it bleeds to death.
Unlike the inland taipan, the coastal
taipan releases the prey once injected (to avoid the injuries from the fight), then tracks
it down once it's dead.
Breeding
Mating can occur all
year around but
peaks in late Dry Season (August - September).
Courtship
and male combat
have been reported.
Two-three months after mating the female lays 7-20 large, soft shelled eggs
in a
hollow log, cavities in the ground or under tree roots.
The eggs take between two and three months to hatch, depending on
the incubation
temperature.
The hatchlings
are almost half
a metre long and ready to take off on their own. Young
coastal
taipan snakes are eaten by goannas
and
birds of prey. The only enemies of the adults are humans.
Bite, Venom and Treatment
Coastal
taipan does not
usually attack a human unless threatened, however it is known as one of the more nervous snakes.
If it has the space it will most likely escape, but if you corner it
(which may well
happen uninentionally if you don't know the snake is near you), it will
become aggressive
and strike
(without any warning or after
a striking
stance, with its forebody and head raised).
Coastal
taipan is the kind of snake that gives multiple
bites,
and they are efficient and accurate. Some studies have shown that their
second and third bite are just as venomous as the first one.
Their venom contains different kinds of neurotoxins, that collapse
nervous system (paralysis
so
you cannot move) and blood's ability to clot (internal bleeding).
Symptoms may
kick in quickly
and include vomiting, nausea, headache, kidney damage, destruction of muscle tissue
and collapse.
Death can be quick
(as soon as
after 30-90 minutes),
so the
application of first aid and seeking of medical attention has to be
immediate. Untreated bites have
almost 100%
mortality rate, which was also the case before the
antivenom was
introduced in 1956 (after the first aid you need to get to the hospital
for
antivenom).
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This complete 300 pages
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detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
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how to deal with the national
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and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.