"Died Before Arrival"

[den]

There is a classification system WIRES uses when we assess injured creatures: cause of injury, the injury, and the creature's fate. This afternoon I had to hike* along the concrete path that runs along the river bank from the centre of town to the zoo. There was a cockatoo caught in the tree. The cause was Entanglement (EN), in this case fishing line had tied the bird to a branch high in a tree. There was no apparent injury that I could see (NA), apart from the fact that the bird had died before I arrived (DI) and was swinging in the light breeze. This movement lead the caller to think the cocky was struggling to free itself, and when I took my glasses off and squinted at the body hanging 30m off the ground, I could make the same mistake.

I called the 'rescue' in to the phone monitor and we came to the conclusion that there was no way we could have rescued the cocky; the branch was hanging over a deep water-hole in the river. While I was on the phone I noticed movement in the sky behind the body, and realized a pair of wedge-tailed eagles were circling over the town. I told the monitor and she joked about "I wonder who's chihuahuas they were hunting." We laughed.

As we reminisced about the young eagle of Trundle and the Shrinking Pack Of Chihuahuas, I became aware of a fellow path-user shouting something. I turned to him. "Sorry?"

"Snake!"

"Where?"

"THERE!" He pointed. No, he pointed in my direction. Hang on... he pointed AT MY FEET. I looked down.

An eastern brown snake had emerged from the thick grass beside the path and was now about a foot away from my foot. The snake continued to emerge before stopping at my feet. Its tongue flicked out and touched my shoe.

At this point Instinctive Den leapt from his cage and, powered by adrenaline, began to scream and flail. Before he could do something stupid, Rational Den and Shit-Scared Den tackled him and shoved him back into the cage and wrapped it in a fluffy blanket. I really wanted to leap and flail and scream but that is exactly the right thing to do if you want to get bitten. I didn't, so I didn't. So my sweat glands took on the job of flailing and in seconds I looked like I'd run a marathon, dripping and wet from standing still.

The snake continued to emerge from the grass and passed in front of me. It even used the toes of my shoe to aid its slithering to the other side of the path. It started to disappear into the grass to my left. I looked to my right and the snake was still emerging from the grass there. The path is 2m wide and the snake was hanging over both sides. After a moment the emerging end started to thin, and then it was just the tail. And a few seconds after that, it was gone.

I became aware of a voice in my ear. I was still on the phone. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes! A bit freaked out but unbitten." I decided it was now a good time to head home and drink more Jack Daniels than I would normally drink. And that is exactly what I did.







*a whole 200 metres

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

You should totally get something better than Jack Daniels after that!
Yay for Rational Den and Shit-Scared Den!

Oooh! Have you got a hell of a reply to "are you good in a crisis/under pressure?" at a job interview!

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

not quite. 8) The local bottle shop has a lot of JD.

[wyldside.livejournal.com]

After that incident I suspect they need to restock.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[lostwanderfound.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, if you're interested in trying some serious Australian rum, get your hands on a bottle of Inner Circle (http://www.innercirclerum.com.au/) Grey (previously known as Inner Circle Black). It's about AUS$80/bottle locally, and probably even more if you can find it in the States, but it's worth every cent.

75.9% ethanol, but it doesn't taste like rocket fuel; this stuff is the Grange Hermitage of rum. If you do get any, be aware that mixing it with anything except perhaps a tiny amount of water is completely sacrilegious.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

They have a larger volume of venom, but the venom in a young snake is just a toxic.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[hespa.livejournal.com]

And, of course, brown snakes are the (relatively) aggressive ones...

Nicely handled, mate. I'd like to think I would do the same, but to be honest I'd prefer not to test the theory. We've already had one "snake-related" injury at work since I started there (although not the way you might think: ranger steps on snake, ranger and snake both freak out, ranger jumps up and down on snake repeatedly out of reflex (she says) before running away, ranger trips over while running for her life and busts up her elbow).

[siouxsyn.livejournal.com]

Gah. Extreme scary.

I love that your response is to make your blood as toxic as possible. :)

You aren't responsible for removing snakes are you? There's a mob specifically for that, you just rescue hurt things?

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I don't do snakes, at least not venomous ones. Pythons are cool.

[damienps.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that I could have done what you did except for the drinking more than normal.

[tatterdemalion.livejournal.com]

hehe, reminds me of the time in primary school on the annual walkathon, which wended its' way up hilton farm road and through the Halls farm, and back down the bush track alongside my house, when the tigersnake decided it would just casually slither over my feet while I was having a snack of unsprayed fresh blackberries from the bushes.

My teacher screamed at me to stay still, and I believe there was an argument between shit scared denise and bush denise who knew that snakes only bit if you startled them.


Bush denise won, but I have never forgotten the feeling of that snake sliding across my foot (yes I was wearing thongs to the walkathon) *grin*

[kamau-d-lyon.livejournal.com]

Ah, all the joys of putting the monkey brain in it's place.

One of the amazing things to watch in situations like this is the reactions of others who are on lookers. They do a total freak out while the person in real danger just does what keeps the situation under control. With few exceptions, when we encounter wild life, if we just go about our business they will go about theirs and no one gets hurt.

[sleepyjohn00.livejournal.com]

Well, there's the old folklore about booze being an antidote for snakebite; it's handy in case you don't get bit, too.

Were the eagles looking at the cocky and thinking 'Pinata!' ? ;)

[ceosanna.livejournal.com]

I would have needed a drink (or three) after that, too!

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

"Come to Australiaaaaa......."

[(Anonymous)]

"where you might accidentally get killed."

[sleepyjohn00.livejournal.com]

"where you might accidentally get killed."

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, there's the sort of phrase I've come to count on, in articles about Australian wildlife: "The eastern brown snake is the species responsible for most deaths caused by snakebite in Australia"

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Doesn't that inspire you to visit?

[scottrell001.livejournal.com]

Not really... it's just one more addition to the list of reasons I'd like to emigrate to Canada.

[tendyl.livejournal.com]

You win! I'd've been the 'Instinctive Den' and freaked. And I agree - lots of JD for situations like that...LOTS!

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

Yeah...Flailing Kitty doesn't often get to come out and play either for just those reasons (unless it's a moth, go figure!) Since it's spring, the copperheads, water moccasins, and other things which like to bite and inflict venom are out and about.

But your adventure takes the cake. I've never, ever seen a snake in the city here which wasn't someone's accidentally released pet. You just had one slither across your toes.

And Uncle Jack is my favorite treatment of choice for all manner of shocks. He's even better when mixed with an ice cold Coke over ice.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

3 ice cubes, JD over the top, THEN add the Coke. I don't like too many ice cubes because the add water to the mix as they melt.

It's the end of Summer here, so the snakes are basking and hunting to fatten up. They are very active.

[damienps.livejournal.com]

I bought from a homewares shop a box of small cubes of marble. Store in the freezer. They act like ice cubes without the downside of melting.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

that's... BRILLIANT!

[bunyip.livejournal.com]

Been there, done that...

except it was helping my parents with a rock garden, and there was a tiger snake under the rock... fortunately it was sluggish. Put down rock, and say blow this for a game of soldiers. ;)

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Yeah.. funnily enough that's how I react to spiders.[ancestral monkey genes, I got mine from survivors I figure].

The only time I freak and flail is if it's no-where near me...and if it's menacing my daughter then it had better run as fast as it's 8 legs can take it! [she's an arachnophobe too.]

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Geez, stuff *happens* to you, Den Whitton!:D

The worst I could manage was a tiny desert sidewinder (read 5 inches long and a baby) years ago, and NOT on my foot! I didn't flail, I just stayed still and observed the tiny snake the same color of stony colorado soil.

[phoenixineohp.livejournal.com]

See, the province I'm in has one hot snake and you're not likely to see it. The upside to this is that you can try to catch whatever snake you find. The downside is that if you are used to that, seeing a snake clicks the 'catch' response in your brain. Not such a good thing if you aren't in my province. Part of me thinks that before the 'freaking out pxp' or the 'logical pxp' or even the 'scared shitless pxp' triggered in that situation, 'snake catching pxp' would have triggered... I really need to kill that response before stepping foot in your country. >.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I have a 'Steve Irwin' Den when I see lizards. Gotta catch them all!

[jazzerat.livejournal.com]

Reading all these stories reminds me of an incident in Arkansas some years ago between my Aunt and a snake. Aunt Bea was hanging clothing on the line when she trod upon a LARGE snake. She freaked and did quite an amazing hysterical stomp dance. The snake freaked and did quite an acrobatic dance of its own. Those of us watching couldn't stop laughing, nor could we decide who was more terrified; Aunt Bea or the snake. Luckily, the snake was a King Snake and not one of the all too common Copperheads so the only one ever in danger was the snake. Which made its escape just as soon as Aunt Bea's dancing feet let it make a safe exit!

Geelong T-Shirt

[grant02-05.livejournal.com]

Carolyn,

You look great - except for that PATHETIC Geelong T-Shirt you are wearing...heaven forbid! Chuck - commiserations about the Charity Shield match (aside from the Grand Final, the most important game in the NRL calender)

Apparently whats his name...oh yeah Craig Wing had a blinder....St George didn't....let's hope that's how the season pans out for those hapless dRagONs! Hugs & kisses to all,

Off to Newcastle the week after Easter, gotta go and pack Winston now...here puss..puss...

Re: Geelong T-Shirt

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I think you meant to post this on Mark's journal.

Re: Geelong T-Shirt

[grant02-05.livejournal.com]

Carolyn,

You look great - except for that PATHETIC Geelong T-Shirt you are wearing...heaven forbid! Chuck - commiserations about the Charity Shield match (aside from the Grand Final, the most important game in the NRL calender)

Apparently whats his name...oh yeah Craig Wing had a blinder....St George didn't....let's hope that's how the season pans out for those hapless dRagONs! Hugs & kisses to all,

Off to Newcastle the week after Easter, gotta go and pack Winston now...here puss..puss...

[scottrell001.livejournal.com]

The serpent shall bruise the heel of the son of man, and the son of man shall crush the serpent's head. I was expecting something along those lines while reading.

Sorry to hear about the cockatoo. I've walked along that path on each of my visits to Dubbo, and I photographed a gathering of them in a tree when I was there last time.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w158/scottrell001/CockatooTree.jpg

Any idea how the bird could have become entangled in fishing line in the first place?