A Sydney man experienced a terrifying moment when over 100 venomous red-bellied black snakes were discovered in a pile of mulch in his backyard. David Stein recounted feeling “the shudders” as the snake removal process unfolded.
Last week, after observing about six snakes slithering into the mulch, Stein contacted Reptile Relocation Sydney. Through an online search, he learned that pregnant red-bellied blacks often pile on top of one another before giving birth.
Snake catcher Dylan Cooper arrived later that day, and with Stein’s assistance in raking away the mulch, they managed to bag a total of 102 pregnant and newborn snakes. “Seeing that amount in one group gives you a bit of the shudders,” Stein remarked.
According to Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney, two of the captured adult snakes gave birth to 29 young while Cooper was still at work. In total, they caught five adults and 97 offspring.
Experts are puzzled as to why so many snakes gave birth simultaneously at Stein’s 1.4-hectare (3.5-acre) property in Horsley Park, located on the western outskirts of Sydney. Kerewaro noted that the largest previous removal he had encountered involved 30 non-venomous carpet pythons, which lay eggs, unlike the live-bearing red-belly blacks.
“You can get a decent number when the babies are hatching, but to have this many venomous snakes is unprecedented,” Kerewaro stated.
Scott Eipper, an author and expert on Australian snakes, suggested that the gathering of gravid red-belly blacks may occur for safety or due to a lack of suitable habitats for giving birth. He also speculated that the exceptionally hot weather in Sydney may have triggered the births. “This is an isolated incident and certainly a rare occurrence,” Eipper remarked.
Red-bellied black snakes typically have litters ranging from 4 to 35 young, and some captured snakes may be the offspring of adults that left the nesting site.
A week later, Kerewaro still had the snakes in his care, as they are a protected species in Australia. After obtaining permission from government authorities, he planned to release them into a national park to ensure a safe distance from human interaction. “These 100 snakes will be relocated deep into the bush, far from any people,” he explained.
In December, Stein’s 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier, Belle, killed a juvenile red-bellied black that had bitten her, leading to four days in an animal hospital for treatment with antivenom. Stein has been informed that the snakes may return to give birth in the same mulch pile next year. “Within the next couple of days, this big pile of mulch will be gone,” he said.
