Backyard visitors Bandy-bandy snake and wildlife making sheds their home

The distinctive bandy-bandy lives underground but is sometimes seen when it surfaces to feed, move or mate, writes LEONARD CRONIN

Having lived on this property for many years, I was sure I’d come across all the larger creatures that share our garden, or come and go. So you can imagine my surprise when I almost tripped over a beautiful black and white banded snake moving slowly in the dark, just metres from our front door. There are few snakes with such distinctive markings, so no problem with identification. It was the cryptic and aptly named bandy-bandy: one of a small contingent of venomous burrowing snakes.

While a number of snakes use the burrows of other animals for shelter or to search for prey, few actually burrow into the soil, although many snakes can wriggle their way into loose topsoil or sand. Burrowing snakes have blunt noses protected by large, tough scales, and are among the least understood terrestrial vertebrates. Most look like overgrown earthworms, and are only noticed when they occasionally surface after rain to look for a mate or change shelters.

Bandy-bandys feed almost exclusively on blind snakes, which means wherever they are seen there must be blind snakes, so there is a whole world of subterranean activity of which we are barely aware.

Owls, goannas and other hunters will take bandy-bandys if they get the chance. But while most snakes are well camouflaged to avoid being attacked by predators or noticed by their prey, bandy-bandys, with their prominent contrasting stripes, take a different approach. Like zebras, their black and white striped pattern has the effect of confusing predators. When threatened, the bandy-bandy loops its body up and down so that the bands, moving at a particular speed, dazzle the predator and detract from the snake’s outline, making it difficult to determine the

snake’s speed and direction. This effect is similar to the illusory effect created by a moving wagon wheel or barber’s pole that appears to rotate in the opposite direction.

Although rarely seen, bandy-bandys are widespread throughout the eastern states of the country. They belong to the same family as Australia’s deadliest snakes, but produce very little venom and are unlikely to bite humans. As with all snakes, if you are lucky enough to see one, be cautious and give it a wide berth.

Len gardens in the Northern Rivers, New South Wales