It’s a photo you could stare at for 15 minutes and never see the danger. But cast your eye deep into the long grass beside the boardwalk, and you might just spot the 1.5-metre-long tiger snake.
The picture of the predatory reptile was taken in the Victorian holiday town of Inverloch. Local man Paul Lica, spotted the snake while walking with his mate, Rom, on a track back from the beach.
“I took it to make a point that they can be hard to see, even when you’re reasonably close,” he told Yahoo News.
Tiger snake location revealed
Tiger snakes have adapted to urbanised environments around Australia, leading some to dub them “great survivors”.
The species is highly venomous and can be defensive when disturbed, which is sometimes characterised as aggression.
Although their name is linked to their striking banding, many are a solid colour.
It’s believed the variation occurs to aid camouflage in different environments, but also to help them regulate their heat absorption, meaning they’re darker in cooler areas.
Chris Williams, the president of the Australian Herpetological Society, said it’s their large scales and body shape that make them easily distinguishable from other species.
“Generally, tiger snakes have a thick-set, robust look to them,” he told Yahoo News.
“Pattern is a terrible indicator. Any olive, grey, or dark brown snake with signs of banding is probably going to be a tiger snake.
“The colour range is so broad, you’re basically describing everything.”
Related: Can you spot the hidden snow leopard?
Here is the location of the tiger snake. Source: Paul Lica
The variability is so great that there were once six recognised species of tiger snake, but recent molecular studies indicate there is just one.
“When I was 17, I spent hours memorising all their scientific names, and it was all for nothing,” Williams quipped.
Shock moment tiger snake spotted beside boardwalk
Despite walking almost daily with Rom along the track, this is the first time Paul has ever seen a snake there.
“I’m always scanning for them,” he said.
“I was always sure that I would see a snake, but was amazed that for many years I had not seen one yet.”
Rom walked right past the snake without noticing it, and it was only a slight movement in the grass that led Paul to see it.
“I said, ‘Tiger snake’,” Paul recalled.
“And he spun around and said, ‘Where?’”
Tiger snakes can vary greatly in colour. Source: Getty
Locals struggle to spot snake in picture
After Paul shared the image on a social media page, locals struggled to find the reptile.
“This is like a hard game of Where’s Wally,” one baffled person said. “Yikes, it’s big,” another said after they located it.
Because they were on the boardwalk, both men felt safe. But most of the track isn’t raised above the grass, so they walked home with added caution.
Paul has had a lifelong severe phobia of snakes, something he characterises as “unreasonable”.
“I’ve been trying hard to address it by understanding them more, and really thinking about what I would do if I came across one,” he said.
“I was actually really pleased that I kept cool and didn’t run metres the other way.
“I just took a couple of steps back, watched it, and even walked a bit closer. But if it wasn’t for the boardwalk, I wouldn’t have been so game.”
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