Australian Reptile Park celebrates World Snake Day

The Australian Reptile Park has celebrated World Snake Day (16th July) by inviting school holiday visitors to witness staff simultaneously milk five of Australia’s most venomous snakes in their “Venom Milk Off”.

Although the Australian Reptile Park hosts a huge variety of Australia’s deadliest snakes, selecting the species of snakes to use was an easy choice. The “Venom Milk Off” showcased some of the deadliest snakes that reside at the Central Coast wildlife park including the death adder, tiger snake, eastern brown snake, king brown snake and the coastal taipan. All five snakes are known for being incredibly deadly, and the task had everyone’s hearts racing as each snake was revealed from their bags.

The staff taking part in the ‘Milk Off’ were General Manager Tim Faulkner, Head of Reptiles Daniel Rumsey, Venom Supervisor Zac Bower, and Reptile Keepers Jake Meney and Brandon Gifford. All experts in handling venomous elapid snakes.

Head of Reptiles, Daniel Rumsey notes “Snakes are amazing reptiles, we love nothing more than raising awareness that they’re not the villain’s people can stereotype them to be. We are known world-wide for our incredibly venomous snakes, and what better day to celebrate them?

“It was truly an amazing moment to get out there with all the boys and do what we do best, milk snakes! Not only was it a great experience to compare the venoms from each snake, it’s done with a great purpose as the venom will be made into antivenom and eventually go towards saving someone’s life one day!”

Along with milking the snakes, the staff then spent time with visitors educating them on the species. The five snakes milked represented the five species of snake the Australian Reptile Park milks for the production of antivenom. These species are taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, death adders and black snakes. Interestingly the species of snake the Australian Reptile Park milks for black snakes is the king brown snake, a species many Australians do not realise are in the black snake family and not the brown snake family due to its deceptive name.

The Australian Reptile Park is the only facility in the world that milks Australian terrestrial land snakes for the production of antivenom. This is done with the help of Seqirus, who transform the raw venom into the final product of lifesaving antivenom. Every year there are an estimated 2,000 reported snake bites in Australia, with over 300 receiving antivenom and having their lives saved by the program.

As for the snakes used and just how dangerous they can be, the tiger snake is responsible for a large number of snake bite cases in the country as they are distributed near water bodies and wetland areas. The king brown snake (also known as the ‘mulga’ snake) is the second longest venomous snake species in Australia and has an extremely widespread distribution. These snakes have previously delivered up to 1.50 milligrams of venom in a single bite. Eastern brown snakes are the second most toxic of any land snake in the world, they thrive in populated areas, particularly on farms in rural areas with mice and are the cause of many snake bites to humans.

The venom of a coastal taipan can kill an adult human within thirty minutes to two and a half hours after a lethal bite. The coastal taipans at the Australian Reptile Park are known for their impressive yields and have even broken records in the past. Death adders have relatively large fangs and toxic venom and, before the introduction of antivenom, about 60% of bites to humans were fatal.

Visitors to the Australian Reptile Park can see all of the most venomous snakes of Australia on display in the park’s impressive ‘Lost World of Reptiles’. Guests keen to see the venom program up close can book a VIP Behind the Scenes Tour to witness a snake venom extraction firsthand.

More information on the tours at https://reptilepark.com.au/experiences/vip-behind-the-scenes-tours/

The Australian Reptile Park is located in the natural bush setting of the Central Coast of NSW, only 30 minutes from the start of the M1.  The Park has REOPENED and welcomes visitors 9am-5pm, with complimentary parking and BBQ facilities. The Australian Reptile Park is requesting visitors to pre-book tickets online prior to their visit.

For more information, visit www.reptilepark.com.au