Family Shocked by Deadly Venomous Snake Hiding in Boot
A family received a nasty shock over the weekend after spotting a deadly and highly venomous snake hiding in a rain boot.
The incident took place on Saturday in the town of Warwick in Queensland, Australia, located roughly 130 kilometers southwest of Brisbane. Speaking with the Australian outlet, 9 News, Anthony Adams of Southern Downs Snake Catchers explained Sunday that his business received an alarmed call from a family, claiming that they had found a snake coiled up in one of their rubber rain boots, known colloquially as "gumboots."
Arriving on the scene, the handler told the outlet that he was "surprised" to find the reptile in the boot was an eastern brown snake, the country's second most venomous land snake species. Despite being less venomous than the inland taipan, the eastern brown is believed to be responsible for most of Australia's snake-related fatalities, roughly 60 percent.
A photo of the snake hiding in the boot was featured in 9 News's story. In a shot angled down into the tall piece of footwear, the deadly reptile's hide can only just be seen peaking out from the toe, meaning that it would have been difficult to spot before attempting to put the boot on. Adams believes that the snake made its way down into the boot after crawling along a low shelf. This was particularly surprising, he added, because brown snakes are not typically known for their climbing prowess.
"It was the first time finding a snake in a gumboot, but they can pop up anywhere. I was surprised to see it was a brown, but they are capable of showing up in unexpected places," Adams said.
He continued: "It's important to check things like boots and shoes if left outside, as well as making sure screens and doors are shut and secure. This one was found inside the house and the caller is very lucky to have seen it and known where it went."
Adams further stated that the snake in the boot was the third eastern brown that he had captured over the weekend. The previous two were found in a roll of fencing mesh and under a freezer compressor, respectively.
Last month in Queensland, a British TikToker Benjamin Cramp had to be airlifted to a hospital after being bitten by an unspecified species of snake while visiting the country. Cramp had been retrieving a drone that crashed into a tree when he "stood on something dark, and...felt something hit [his] ankle" while walking on a grass-covered dune.
"I got back to the truck and saw the fang marks and then it sort of sunk in what had happened," Cramp explained. "We had no signal, but these legends [other visitors to the island] bandaged me up and rushed me down the beach. As soon as we reached a signal, they sent the helicopter in."
Newsweek reached out to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science for comment.
