It’s a scene one Aussie snake catcher doubts he will ever come across again. At the bottom of a partially drained Queensland pool, he found not one, but six animals in need of rescuing — with some unlikely friendships formed between the stranded creatures.
Glenn Lawrence, from OzCapture Snake Relocations, discovered a group of cane toads huddled together inside the pool in a backyard in the Scenic Rim, wrapped in the cold-blooded embrace of a keelback snake.
While keelbacks are non-venomous and don’t post a threat to humans, the same can’t be said for their relationship with toads. Cane toads and native frogs are a large part of the snake’s diet, though they typically prey on juveniles — which could explain why the toads inside the pool weren’t eaten.
Snake catcher Glenn said he’d never seen anything like it. Source: OzCapture Snake Relocations
“It was really just this little once in a lifetime thing,” Glenn told Yahoo News, describing the usual relationship between the reptiles as “mortal enemies”.
“It’s just ironic because a keelback is the only animal in Australia that can consume small cane toads and not have any ill effects,” Glenn said. “But big enough cane toads will eat newborn hatchling keelbacks. So it’s a whole karmic kind of theme there. One could eat the other, but they’re all too big for each other.”
Glenn believes the snake may have been seeking refuge in the company of the toads, hiding from other predators while trapped on the exposed pool floor.
“If that snake had crawled away and decided to keep trying to fight to get out, he would have got picked off by something, likely a kookaburra,” he said.
Keelbacks eat juvenile toads, while adult toads also eat baby keelbacks. Source: OzCapture Snake Relocations
Simple act pool owners can do to save trapped wildlife
It’s not known how long the animals were trapped for, but Glenn said the keelback could potentially survive for months due to a shallow puddle at one end of the pool.
One move homeowners can make that could save the lives of stranded wildlife is to leave a pool noodle or a towel hanging over the edge of the pool for the animals to climb back out.
“If it’s an empty pool, check it every day, and definitely check your pool skimmer boxes because things like lizards, small snakes and other animals can get stuck inside.”
Glenn to scale back work after devastating health setback
While Glenn has seen his fair share of incredible scenes in his line of work, he told Yahoo he would be taking a step back from May next year as he focuses more on his health.
“I have a brain tumour that’s growing on my pineal gland, which is affecting my short-term memory, balance and the release of dopamine,” he said, adding the tumour has also spread to his lungs.
Glenn will be taking a step back from his business in May next year. Source: OzCapture Snake Relocations
As he prepares to close down his business, OzCapture Snake Relocations, he will still be taking on casual snake-catching jobs for other local catchers.
“I use the analogy with people, I want to be a drummer in the band now, not the singer,” he said.
“I have a daughter, so, you know, I want to be around for a bit longer. I just need less stress on my shoulders.”
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