Wet Season Feb 07
February 2007
The Wet season continues with rain and more
rain. Not that we're complaining though, it's the first half-decent NQ has
seen (what I'm told anyway) in 10 years. All sorts of things have become
active with the moisture.
Brolgas feeding in the grass.
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos have been seen in
large flocks
Cedar Creek Falls after the rain slowed a
little bit
The MASSIVE (10cm!) tadpole of the
Greenstripe Frog, shown next to a small adult. These frogs are burrowers,
spending much of the year deep underground awaiting rains. When rain comes,
they emerge out of the ground to feed and breed, quickly returning back to
the ground once the water vanishes to await the next summer rain.
Today on tour we found a very large Eastern
Brown snake, about 1.6m or more (hey, let's face it, who would put a tape
measure to it?) It was about the size of one I stood on back in 1998. It was
content hunting frogs etc in the grass. This snake was so absorbed in the
activity that I walked right up to it, and those that were present can back
me up on this one. The Eastern Brown is widely considered the most dangerous
snake in Australia, being responsible for a high number of deaths here. It
ranks as the second most venemous in Australia. Fangs are short, and
unlikely to penetrate heavy clothing such as jeans. It is a member of the
dominant family of snakes here, the Elapids- the Cobra and Black
Mamba family. In fact the scientific name of the Eastern Brown is
Pseudonaja textilis - literally "False Cobra [that is] textile-like."
The textile part of the name probably refers to the wide variety of colours
and patterns this snake comes in. However, all Eastern Browns have orange
spots on the belly. In Australia, the sighting of a large Eastern Brown is
often referred to as a "King Brown." The King Brown is NOT a Brown Snake, it
is actually a kind of Black Snake Pseudechis australis. The King
Brown is correctly referred to as the Mulga Snake, and is generally found in
dry areas over most of Australia down to far NW Victoria.
Two shots of the big Brown.
Also present lately is a predator of the
Eastern Brown, the far less venemous (to humans) Red Bellied Black Snake
Pseudechis porphryricus. This snake has a bad, yet undeserved
reputation. Yes, it is big, and jet black and nasty looking, but a snake
that is unlikely to bite, even when provoked. Contrary to popular belief, no
deaths from this snake have been recorded.
