Aussies confused by 'distressing' snake detail in wild weather warning
A photo of a sea snake washed ashore on a Queensland beach was shared as a timely reminder as the state deals with wild conditions.
A photo of an exhausted sea snake washed ashore at a popular tourist beach serves as a timely reminder to exercise caution around injured animals, a wildlife expert has warned.
As Queensland continues to cop a battering from wild weather, animals — sea snakes in particular — have also taken a hit, with several found injured along the state's beaches.
Dan from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers said in the last week alone, the team had been called out to a handful of sea snake rescues along the region's beaches — although they can be swept ashore during any rough seas.
One such incident occurred back in September, when a huge sea snake was found at Caloundra Beach, on the Sunshine Coast, with a portion of its tail missing.
Grim photo serves as timely reminder
The team responded to the callout at the time, with the animal then transported to Australia Zoo where it was treated. Sharing the image over the weekend, Dan said he hopes the incident will raise awareness about what people should and shouldn't do around injured snakes they come across.
"It's just an awareness thing," Dan told Yahoo News Australia. "Because what happens is, with all these rough weather conditions that we've had — and we have had a few sea snake rescues, like in even in the last week — but whenever the ocean's a bit rough, they do wash up quite regularly, and then people tend to try and push them back in the water."
Locals urged against handling injured snakes
But the wildlife expert warned that's exactly what locals, even if they're trying to do the right thing, should avoid.
"If they're out on land it's because they're either really, really tired or they're very, very sick. So the animal from the photo was very sick, hence it had washed up in the rough conditions.
"We need to make sure people — if they spot the animals — do call a rescue group or a wildlife hospital so someone can come out [and remove it], it's important not to try and throw it back in the water because they just keep getting washed back up anyway."
The "distressing" image confused some people on social media due to the angle in which it was taken, with many wondering which end of the animal was its head and which was its tail. Though, it was quickly clarified the head was simply tucked away at the more narrow end of its body.
"That’s a distressing photo, is it alive?" one person asked.
Unable to be saved, the elegant sea snake — a highly venomous species found in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory — was later humanely euthanised.
Cause of snake's injury unknown
Dan said it was too difficult to tell how exactly the snake suffered its wounds and typically calls of that kind tend to come in during the early hours of the morning.
"We always get calls at about 5am," he said. "So morning walkers doing their thing, they're the ones that usually get us straightaway in the morning.
"The injury to the tail could have been from a lot of things. A lot of the time when they're just floating along the surface like that, anything can go after them and grab [them], potentially a fish — or they do sustain a lot of injuries obviously, too, from being struck by boats and stuff like that."
Emphasising the importance of staying away from beached sea snakes, Dan said the best thing to do is call either the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers team or other wildlife authorities. He said some species actually have large, dangerous fangs and the animals can bite people — in contrast to popular belief.
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new weekly newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
