Danger of Aussie snakes a bit mythical, like drop bears

WHILE many tourists are convinced, the popular suggestion that Australia is the home of the world’s deadliest snakes is largely a myth with the risk of bites and death far greater across Asia, Africa and South America, the CSIRO says.

Herpetologist Ruchira Somaweera says the myth was born a few decades ago and came out of a study of the relatively high toxicity levels found in Australian species, like brown snakes.

“If you look at the amount of people who actually die (in Australia) from snakes each year, it’s practically nothing, the encounter rates are so low in comparison to other parts of the world,” Dr Somaweera said.

He said that there are an estimated one million venomous snake bites globally every year.

In India alone, about 10,000 people die annually.

“In the neighbouring island of Sri Lanka, an estimated 80,000 people get bitten by snakes annually, of which about 400 lose their lives,” he said. “It’s clearly a massive issue and a real threat in other parts of the world, especially Asia, compared to Australia.”

Brown snakes are also considered potentially more dangerous because they are daytime active so encounter rates are higher.

But, like the comical warnings about drop bears and stories of spiders as big as dinner plates, Dr Somaweera said many misconceptions about snakes and reptiles in Australia remain, especially among tourists.

“It’s all good fun but the truth is often quite different,” he said.