Airport officials spotted a deadly intruder slithering around the Adelaide Airport federal police office on Monday.
Australian Federal Police found the eastern brown snake in the basement carpark of the facility and secured it in a box until a snake catcher arrived to remove the dangerous reptile.
While waiting for the snake catcher, a Duty Sergeant ran the box through an X-ray machine to confirm that the snake was indeed trapped inside. The scan, showing the curled up serpent, was shared in a post on Facebook this morning.
"Thanks to our Adelaide team for the lawful removal of this intruder," the Australian Federal Police said in the post.
Eastern brown snakes are highly venomous and are responsible for more fatalities in Australia than any other snake species.
Their venom contains a powerful neurotoxin, which progressively paralyzes the victim's nerves in their heart, lungs and diaphragm, eventually causing suffocation.
The snake's venom contains other toxins too, including powerful procoagulants and cardiotoxins, which can lead to convulsions, cardiac arrest, kidney damage and uncontrollable bleeding.
After suffering a plague of mice and an unusually wet spring, Australia is experiencing a bumper snake season this year.
Snake sightings are on the rise, but snake catcher Rudy Della-Flora told ABC News Australia that he was expecting even more snake-related callouts over the coming months.
"We haven't really had lots of hot weather, that's probably still to come so God knows what is going to happen then, but they are out and about—that's for sure."
Della-Flora said that he receives 20 callouts a day, on average, when temperatures hit above 95F. Over the festive period, temperatures in Adelaide are expected to soar to 98F, so it could be a busy Christmas.
The Australian Reptile Park has said as the weather gets warmer, snakes are more likely to be found inside people's homes as they shelter from the heat.
To snake-proof your home, Della-Flora said you should make sure that any gaps underneath your doors have been sealed. "If you can get your thumb or your little finger under a door then there's a possibility a snake can get under it," he said.
The Australian Federal Police also left a warning in their Facebook post about this year's snake season: "We aren't usually in the business of snakes—depends who you ask though—but with temperatures starting to rise, remember to take care of yourselves and your animals."
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about snakes? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
