An 11-year-old girl encountered and picked up a snake because she thought it was cute, unaware that it was a highly venomous species.
A clip shared on the personal Facebook page of Stewy, a well-known snake catcher living in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, shows an 11-year-old girl from the suburbs of Sydney using her phone to film a small snake she was holding.
The 11-year-old girl held the snake thinking it was non-venomous. (Screenshot from the clip).
Stewy mentioned that the clip was sent to him by the girl’s grandmother, who wanted to identify the snake. She noted that her granddaughter had spotted the snake while out for a walk and was attracted by its small size, prompting her to pick it up.
The girl then used her smartphone to record a video showcasing the creature she had just caught. The clip shows the snake coiling around her fingers.
“I just found a snake. It’s a striped snake,” the girl said in the clip shared by Stewy.
The girl caught the snake for fun without realizing it was highly venomous (Video: Facebook).
Believing that the snake she had caught was a striped snake, which is known to have mild venom that poses no danger to humans, the girl confidently held it in her hands. However, when Stewy reviewed the clip, he was shocked to discover that the creature she was holding was highly venomous.
“This is an Eastern Brown Snake, a species with extremely dangerous venom,” Stewy wrote on his personal Facebook page, alongside the clip of the 11-year-old girl. “The girl in this video is incredibly lucky not to have been bitten by the snake. Her parents might want to buy a lottery ticket.”
“In the video, the girl refers to the creature as a striped snake, a non-venomous species found only in other countries. They look somewhat similar, and certainly, information about the snake can be found on social media platforms like YouTube or TikTok,” Stewy added. “The Eastern Brown Snake is a species with neurotoxic venom and is responsible for numerous fatalities due to snake bites in Australia. This is an extremely dangerous situation, and this girl could have easily been bitten and killed by the snake.”
From this incident, Stewy called for parents to educate children to stay away from and never touch wild animals in general, and snakes in particular, if they encounter them anywhere.
“Always remind children not to interact with any wild animals. Education is key to ensuring that situations like this girl’s do not happen again,” Stewy emphasized.
Snake catcher Stewy issued a warning upon discovering that the snake in the clip was highly venomous. (Photo: STSC).
The Eastern Brown Snake belongs to the elapid family and is considered the second most venomous snake in the world, after the sea snake. This snake has neurotoxic venom that can cause paralysis and uncontrollable bleeding, including intracranial bleeding, after a bite.
This species is common in Australia and can be found in gardens or residential areas. They feed on small animals such as mice, frogs, birds, and lizards. When fully grown, Eastern Brown Snakes can reach lengths of 1.5 to 1.8 meters, and occasionally up to 2 meters, though this is rare.
Eastern Brown Snakes are diurnal. When threatened or provoked, they may raise their necks and deliver a deadly strike. However, in most cases, these snakes will try to escape from humans rather than attack.
