Man Finds 'Highly Venomous' Snake Hiding in Beer Crate

While moving a crate of empty beer bottles in his garden, a man in Queensland, Australia, saw something unusual hiding among the glass.

Curled up around the bottlenecks was a venomous red-bellied black snake, measuring just under 3.5 feet long.

"[He] was very calm about it but no doubt surprised," snake catcher Ozzie (Glenn) Lawrence, of OzCapture Snake Relocations, told Newsweek.

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Lawrence was called in to remove the snake on Wednesday morning from the man's house in Beaudesert in southeast Queensland.

It is unclear how the snake got into the beer crate, but Lawrence said that it would likely have been looking for food. "The snake would have been hunting prey and at the top of their list is frogs, so [it would have been] looking for them," he added.

Red-bellied black snakes are found along the East Coast of Australia. They can be recognized by their black shiny body and distinctive red underbelly, from which they derive their name. The species can grow to around 5 to 6.5 feet on average and is usually found in moist habitats, like swamps and streams, according to the Australian Museum.

The snake carries a potent venom that attacks the blood and muscles. However, there have been no confirmed human deaths from red-bellied black snake bites in recent history in Australia, according to a document provided by the Victoria state government. The shy species tends to avoid aggressive encounters. Even so, bites from red-bellied black snakes can inflict serious damage and should receive immediate medical attention.

Lawrence said that most bites occur when people try to handle these venomous snakes themselves. "Although this species of snake is too often regarded as placid and calm, they are still a highly venomous species. They should never be picked up, handled or attempted to be caught, unless experienced and, of course, licensed," Lawrence said. "Generally, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone."

Lawrence said that red-bellied black snakes are fairly common in this area of Queensland, so he has a lot of experience catching them. "To remove the snake, I simply removed several of the empty bottles near the snake. I waited till the snake made his or her move to get away and then I just grabbed it, as I usually do, toward the tail region," he said. "It was an easy catch and went smoothly."

XXXX, the brand in these photos, is a Brisbane-based beer manufacturer and one of Queensland's biggest names. It is, therefore, particularly fitting that the snake would choose to nestle here.

Lawrence shared photos from the incident to his Facebook page, OzCapture Snake Relocations, posting, "does it get any more Aussie than this!"

"I think I'd be seriously upset being dragged out upside down after a hard night on the slops," commented one user. "Looks like you've interrupted his bender," wrote another.

If you ever see a snake on your property, the safest option is to stay calm and call in your local snake catcher. "Venomous snakes shouldn't be trifled with," Lawrence said. "They shouldn't be handled or grabbed or brushed with a broom to try and push them out the house because you can hurt them, and that makes them agitated."

Update 04/20/2023 07:20 a.m. EST: This article was updated to include additional information on that lack of fatalities from this species, according to official records.