The Snake Catcher of Jamberoo, The Bugle, 25 July, 2024
The snakes are sleeping now, dormant in the cold weather. But they won’t be sleeping for long. The minute spring arrives, the snakes wake up, hungry and randy, looking for food and looking for a mate.
And that’s when the services of the Jamberoo snake catcher Hugh Marriot come into play, with locals encountering them in their homes, sheds, and backyards.
If you are under the illusion that most of the snakes found on the South Coast are harmless, think again.
The most common is the Red Belly Black Snake whose bite, while it may not kill you, can make you very sick indeed.
The Golden Crown, also venomous, is a nighttime hunter, while the Eastern Tiger Snake, also highly venomous, has populations radiating out from the edge of the escarpment, and compete with the Red Bellies for frogs in swampy areas.
While not seen as often as a Red Belly, the Eastern Brown is rated as the second most venomous snake in the world and easily the most dangerous in the Illawarra and South Coast regions.
The nocturnal Eastern Small Eyed Snake is also highly venomous, if rarely seen. Their encounters with humans are mostly in barns and sheds. It looks harmless, but most certainly isn’t.
Officially Hugh Marriot is Reptile Collector for the Illawarra for the animal welfare group WIRES.
Unofficially he’s the Jamberoo Snake Catcher, the man you call when you’re in trouble. He first came to the area from Western Sydney in the 1990s, and decided rural life was for him. He regularly encountered snakes and was troubled by the prevailing attitude of the time: “The Only Good Snake Is a Dead Snake.”
“I was working around Jamberoo properties and gardens and would come in contact with snakes all the time,” he told The Bugle. “You wonder what you are going to do with them.
I had to decide whether to knock them on the head or learn about why they are here.
“I like them. They deserve respect. They need care. They need to be appreciated. They are an important part of the environment we live in. They take on the rats and mice, they are providing a service.”
Currently in his care is a diamond python, which is not native to the area and is most likely an escaped pet. While it is not hibernating as such, it is a state technically known as brumation, where they are close to dormant but can come awake on a warm winter’s day. Their metabolism is so low that they don’t eat during winter.
From his quarter of a century’s experience with the local snakes, Hugh has some very strong advice.
If someone you know has been bitten sit them down, apply a pressure bandage and ring 000.
Do not think you can identify the species on your own. “There can be high variation within the species,” he said. “Colour is never a good indication of what you are looking at. Identification is extremely difficult for any member of the public.”
Hugh said one of the most common callouts he gets is for snakes that have been injured by dogs or cats or hit by a car. Not all survive, but with appropriate care, many of them live to hunt another day.
One of the first things he does when rescuing an injured snake is to get them to a vet. Not all vets will see venomous snakes, but Amanda Brett at Kiama Downs has established a reputation as the best reptile expert in the area.
Most of all Hugh reiterates, if you find a snake do not try to deal with it yourself. The results can be deadly.
Make sure your grass is mown going into snake season!
Ring WIRES or a professional snake catcher such as himself.
“And remember: All snakes are protected. It is illegal to knock them on the head.”
WIRES: 1300 094 737
The Jamberoo Snake Catcher Hugh Marriott: 0401 394 444