Mothers love taking photos of their children having fun. What mother’s don’t love, is wildly poisonous animals lurking right next to their children.
A mother recently went for a walk near the Mitta Mitta River in Victoria, Australia. As her children ran ahead in excitement, the mother, naturally, decided to snap a photo of the pretty scene — her kids on a trail surrounded by trees and sunshine. What she didn’t realize at the time was that her kids weren’t the only ones in the photo.
Turns out the kids were next to a snake, the mother discovered when taking a look at the photos later on. But it wasn’t just your regular neighborhood snake — it was deadly.
It was a venomous eastern brown snake but in the photo, it just looks like a stick. And it also looks like her kids are about to cross it.
Barry Goldsmith, owner of Snake Catcher Victoria Australia, saw the photo and shared it to Facebook, raising awareness and explaining that it is perfect proof that snakes will not attack unless provoked.
“The snake saw them coming and watched as they unknowingly skipped past,” he wrote via Facebook. “Really goes to show that snakes are not aggressive and just need respect.”
Eastern brown snakes specifically will usually mind their own business or stand still when they see a person. However, it is when they are agitated that they will begin to act out in defense of themselves. According to the Australian Museum, most incidents involving these snakes were because they were put in a position where they felt like they were in danger.
“This species has the unfortunate distinction of causing more deaths from snakebite than any other species of snake in Australia. Many bites have been a direct result of people trying to kill these snakes and could obviously have been avoided.”
So basically, don’t try to kill the snake and the snake won’t try to kill you. That seems pretty fair.
It’s not rare to see a poisonous snake in Australia. In fact, it’s a place with many odd, eccentric creatures — many of them being venomous.
“In Victoria, where I live, all the snakes are venomous with the main ones being the eastern brown snake, the tiger snake, the Australian copperhead and the red-bellied black snake,” Goldsmith said via The Dodo.
The eastern brown snake is also a camouflage master with the ability to blend into any surrounding sticks, trees, and bushes. That explains why it pretty much looked like a stick in the photo with the two children. That also probably explains why they didn’t even notice the creature in the moment!
“I’m trying to get people to respect the animal instead of putting fear into them,” Goldsmith continued, explaining that he has spent the majority of his life trying to educate people on their environments and the creatures they live with. “I’m forever trying to change attitudes towards them.”
While it’s still extremely important to be careful (don’t go petting snakes any time soon), the photo is certainly proof that humans and snakes can coexist. They’re only dangerous if you put them in that position.
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