TOP End snake catcher Lachlan Way hooked a 2m carpet python from a bedroom wall in Darwin and popped it into a cloth sack yesterday morning.
It was the sixth one he’d caught and the clock had not yet struck 11am.
“I’ve got a carload full of snakes,” he said.
“I’ll relocate them to Holmes Jungle, out in the bush away from people where they are protected.”
After the tragic death of hockey star Karl Berry, the public are being urged to pick up the phone and call for help when they see a reptile.
Alice Springs snake catcher Justin Rutherford said there were snake catchers throughout the Territory who will come and remove a slitherer.
“Don’t go after snakes for revenge or you’ll just get bitten,” he said.
Senior wildlife ranger Sally Heaton said Territory snake catchers respond to about 1000 calls for help each week.
But less than 5 per cent are highly venomous.
Territory snakes often feed up in April before the cool weather sets in.
They like sheds or homes where conditions are humid and warm but dry and are attracted by rats, which are in turn attracted by bird seed or chickens.
In the past two weekends there had been more than 30 callouts in the Darwin to Noonamah area.
“We encourage people to pick up the phone, not the snake,” Ms Heaton said.
org: www.ntnews.com.au
