Latest news with #Kerewaro
Miami Herald
10-02-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Writhing mass of 102 venomous snakes found in mulch pile at Australia home. Take a look
When you live in Australia, possibly crossing paths with any matter of venomous creatures comes with the territory. But one Sydney homeowner got more than they bargained for when they noticed a snake in their backyard. Reptile Relocation Sydney was called to a house when the homeowners noticed a couple red-bellied black snakes slithering their way into their mulch pile, the group said in a Feb. 4 Facebook post. It's common for females of the species to congregate this time of year to give birth, the group said, so the snake catchers suspected there would be multiple snakes inside the pile. 'Upon arrival, we expected to remove four redbellies that had been seen,' Reptile Relocation Sydney said. 'Dylan was the man for the job and got straight to work going through the mulch. Within a few minutes, we knew this was going to be unusual.' The group said as they started to pull out snakes, there just seemed to be more and more snakes appearing in the pile, far more than they could have ever imagined. 'Long story short, we went for four adults and came out with 102 snakes in total — 97 newborn redbellies and five adults,' the group said. Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney, told the Associated Press he had never seen a removal this large before. Previously, the largest similar job he'd heard of involved 30 non-venomous carpet pythons. This was a completely different game. 'You can get a decent number like that when the babies are hatching,' Kerewaro told the outlet. 'But to have this many venomous snakes, no one's come across it.' Kerewaro also said two of the adult snakes were even giving birth in the bag after they were captured while the snake catchers were still sifting through mulch, according to the AP. Red-bellied black snakes, while dangerous, are one of the most commonly encountered snakes in Australia, according to the Australian Museum. They average in size between 5 and 6.5 feet long and are typically found in moist habitats like swamps and lagoons but can also be found in forests, woodlands and grasslands. They are often found in drainage canals or thick grass clumps, according to the museum. 'Just seeing that amount in one group, it gives you a bit of the shudders,' the homeowner, David Stein, told the AP. Red-bellied black snakes live throughout the eastern coast of Australia. The snakes were found in Sydney, on Australia's southeastern coast.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
100 slithery, venomous snakes found in homeowner's backyard: ‘I'd be moving out!'
Boo, hiss. A homeowner was terrified to discover nearly 100 venomous snakes in a writhing black knot in his backyard — in a case experts have described as a 'rare occurrence.' The trouble began last week when David Stein initially spotted a handful of the slithering creatures clustered together in his garden — leading the Australia man to immediately call in a specialized removal crew. While waiting for assistance, he began researching on the internet and learned that the snakes in question — red-belly blacks — are known to climb on top of one another before giving birth to a litter. Sure enough, when snake catcher Dylan Cooper arrived at Stein's house in suburban Sydney a few hours later to help Stein remove the creatures from his yard, the pair discovered a whopping total of 102 of the poisonous beasts — from pregnant all the way down to newborns — hidden in the mulch. 'Just seeing that amount in one group, it gives you a bit of the shudders,' Stein told the Associated Press. The men rolled up their sleeves and bagged the reptiles to take them away. Several of the snakes are believed to have given birth in the bag. 'You can get a decent number like that when the babies are hatching,' Reptile Relocation owner Cory Kerewaro said. 'But to have this many venomous snakes, no one's come across it.' In the end, the professionals counted five adult snakes and 97 offspring. A video of the captured snakes squirming in a huge pile posted on Reptile Relocation's Facebook horrified viewers. 'I'd be moving out!' one person wrote online. 'I wouldn't even pack my stuff,' another agreed. 'I'd just leave. The house, the mulch pile. It's all theirs now!' However, Scott Eipper, an Australian snake expert, insisted 'this is an isolated incident.' 'It's certainly a very rare occurrence,' he told the AP. The largest snake removal job Kerewaro has ever heard of was 30 non-venomous carpet Pythons. Stein was told more snakes could slither back to his property to give birth next year — so he'll be making his lot much less hospitable for the creatures. 'Within the next couple of days, this big pile of mulch will be gone,' Stein confirmed. Kerewaro has kept the snakes while determining the best way to release them back into the wild. 'Because there was such a large number, obviously people were a bit concerned where 100 snakes were going to go,' Kerewaro said. He has been granted permission by government officials to release them into a national park but has yet to do so. To ease worriers' minds, he insisted 'they'll be far enough away to avoid any human interaction: 100 snakes are going into the middle of the bush in the middle of nowhere.' While Stein quickly cleared his home in hopes of discouraging the snakes from returning, one man in Florida transformed his house into a haven for hundreds of exotic reptiles — and even lets his young kids cuddle with the slithery serpents in bed. 'It's normal for our family,' said Socratis Christoforu of Fort Lauderdale. His collection includes rare green tree pythons, Amazon basin boas, Boeleni pythons and two venomous species, including a rear-fanged Bioga.
Ammon
08-02-2025
- General
- Ammon
More than 100 venomous snakes found in Sydney yard
Ammon News - Australian reptile handlers say they have been stunned to rescue 102 venomous snakes from a backyard mulch pile in Sydney. Cory Kerewaro said his business was initially called to rescue "a bunch" of the reptiles after one was reported to have bitten a dog at the property. When his colleague arrived, he discovered 40 red-bellied black snakes - four of which gave birth to more live young once he had placed them in a removal bag. Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most common venomous species in Australia but have not caused any human deaths on record. The five adult and 97 baby snakes are currently under quarantine and will be released into a national park once the weather cools. Mr Kerewaro said it was as record haul for the snake handlers, who normally catch between five and 15 reptiles per day. He said he recalls colleague Dylan Cooper calling him within 15 minutes to say: "Mate, I'm going to be here a while. It's a pretty big pile... I'm already over 15 snakes!" "I thought he was stitching me up." The dog was "alive and well" after the incident which happened on Boxing Day, he added. Female red-bellied black snakes often gather in small groups when they are ready to give birth, possibly to protect against predators, according to Mr Kerewaro. They are the only snake of their genus to give live birth, the Australian Museum says on its website. The species is considered to be shy, and bites - though uncommon - can cause swelling, nausea and diarrhoea. Snake catchers are required by law to release the animals close to where they were found. But given the size this discovery, the catchers have been given permission to release the snakes into a national park away from human interactions. BBC
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Jaw-Dropping Number of Venomous Snakes Removed From Man's Backyard
A homeowner in Australia received quite the horrific shock when he called reptile experts after spotting a few snakes in his backyard. However, a search of the property turned up over 100 of the slithery creatures, which turned out to be venomous red-bellied black snakes. Sydney resident David Stein learned from an internet search that the half-dozen snakes he saw slithering around on a pile of mulch in his backyard were likely pregnant, as the red-belly blacks—as the are commonly referred to—pile on top of each other before they give birth. The species is one of eastern Australia's most commonly seen snakes. Their venom can cause significant illness, though no deaths have been recorded. Stein then contacted Reptile Relocation Sydney, which sent out a snake catcher that afternoon. Together, the pair raked away the mulch, bagging five adult snakes and 97 offspring. Cory Kerewaro, the owner of the relocation service, told ABC News that two of the captured adults gave birth to 29 newborn snakes in the bag while the snake catcher was still at work. "Just seeing that amount in one group, it gives you a bit of the shudders," Stein recalled. Kerewaro said he had never heard of so many snakes being caught at a single location, noting that the largest haul he had heard of was 30 non-venomous carpet pythons. However, while red-belly blacks give birth, baby pythons hatch from eggs, which can lead to a more prolific number of offspring. "You can get a decent number like that when the babies are hatching," Kerewaro explained. "But to have this many venomous snakes, no one's come across it." Australian wildlife expert Scott Eipper, who has written several books on the subject, spoke with Kerewaro during the capture effort and suggested that unusually hot weather may have triggered the snakes to rapidly give birth. He said that pregnant red-belly blacks may congregate for safety or shortage of suitable birthing habitat. "This is an isolated incident. It's certainly a very rare occurrence," Eipper said, adding that the species typically has litters of four to 35 offspring. In the meantime, because the red-belly blacks are a protected species in Australia, government authorities gave Kerewaro permission to release them into a national park. Though, he's aware that finding a good home for them is going to be tricky. "Because there was such a large number, obviously people were a bit concerned where 100 snakes were going to go," Kerewaro added. "They'll be far enough away to avoid any human interaction; 100 snakes are going into the middle of the bush in the middle of nowhere."
The Independent
07-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Homeowner horrified as over 100 venomous snakes removed from backyard
An Australian man was left shocked after discovering more than 100 venomous snakes under a pile of mulch in the backyard of his home in Sydney. David Stein of Horsley Park called Reptile Relocation Sydney last Friday after spotting six snakes slither into the mulch. He had been alerted to their presence after one of the snakes bit his dog, local media reported. Reptile Relocation Sydney owner Cory Kerewaro arrived that afternoon and bagged 102 venomous red-bellied black snakes. 'Just seeing that amount in one group, it gives you a bit of the shudders," Mr Stein said. He said two of the captured adults gave birth to 29 snakes in the bag. 'There was just over 40 that we pulled out of the pile and then when we went to leave the property, we checked the bags,' he said, 'and two of them had given birth and it brought the number up to around 70'. The final tally was five adult snakes and 97 offspring, Mr Kerewaro said. Faced with a large number of slithering reptiles, the snake catchers enlisted the help of homeowners in the neighbourhood to round up all of them. "If they didn't help, we probably would have called it a day and went back the next day to keep going," Mr Kerewaro said according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Reptile experts are not sure why so many snakes were hatched in such a short time at Mr Stein's 1.4-hectare property in Sydney's western outskirts. Mr Kerewaro said the largest haul that he had heard of in a snake removal job was 30 non-venomous carpet pythons. "You can get a decent number like that when the babies are hatching," he said. "But to have this many venomous snakes, no one's come across it." The red-bellied black snake is commonly found in eastern New South Wales and Victoria and typically gives birth to five to 18 offspring. Most of the world's most venomous snakes are native to Australia. Scott Eipper, who has written many books about Australian snakes and dangerous wildlife, said red-bellied black snakes may congregate for safety reasons or a shortage of suitable habitat to give birth. Mr Eipper, who spoke to Mr Kerewaro the day the snakes were caught, said it was possible that extraordinarily hot weather in Sydney had triggered birthing. "This is an isolated incident," Mr Eipper said, according to the Associated Press. 'It's certainly a very rare occurrence.'
