A woman in her 60s is recovering after being bitten by a two-metre-long eastern brown snake that became entangled in her bike chain on a popular cycling trail in northern New South Wales.
Incident on the Rail Trail
The woman was riding on the northern rivers rail trail near Burringbar, in the Tweed shire, when she ran over the snake. Paramedics were called at about 1pm on Wednesday after the woman was bitten on the thigh. She was taken to Tweed Valley hospital in a stable condition and discharged on Thursday morning, according to the Northern NSW local health district.
Eastern brown snakes are highly venomous, considered the world’s second most venomous snake. They are found across eastern Australia from northern Queensland to South Australia. While brown snakes are the most common cause of fatal snake bites in Australia, deaths from any snake bite are rare.
Challenging Extraction
Snake catcher Sarah Mailey, who was called to the scene, said freeing the snake from the bike chain was highly challenging because its upper body remained free. “Its head wasn’t in the chain so it was free to be able to strike her leg,” she said.
Mailey confirmed the rider sustained a “dry bite,” meaning venom did not enter her bloodstream. Mailey pinned the snake’s head while bystanders disentangled the chain. Police attended to ensure public safety. The snake was euthanised due to its injuries.
Unique Circumstances
Mailey noted that snakes are often attracted to the rail trail for the burrows and rodents under the concrete path. “In April, snakes start to look for where they’re going to spend their time and they move under there,” she said. The snake was also blind in its left eye, likely contributing to the incident. “Given that he was probably just sitting there not moving, it wouldn’t have been something that she would have spotted,” Mailey added.
The cooler weather slowed the snake’s reflexes. “If it was any other time of year and the snake wasn’t blind, it would have had energy and seen her coming and got out of the way,” she explained.
Mailey discovered the mishap was not entirely unprecedented. When she called a snake catcher friend with 31 years of experience, he said, “I’ve had this happen a couple of times.”
Eastern Brown Snakes Often Misidentified
Mailey said eastern brown snakes are frequently mistaken for harmless species like the keelback snake. “People mix up brown snakes, eastern brown, or even king brown … we also have your brown tree snake,” she said. She receives calls from holidaymakers mistaking harmless species for dangerous ones based on colour. “I’ve caught every colour brown snake, I’ve caught a really red-coloured one, a silver one, [and] a jet black one that I could have mistook myself for a red bellied black snake.”
For cyclists and bushwalkers encountering a snake, Mailey urged patience and caution: “If you can see it from afar, stop and just wait for it to move off the path. If it’s not moving off the path because it’s sunbaking and can’t see you, pop off your bike and try to walk the furthest way around it you possibly can.”
