Bushwalker Bitten by Snake on West Coast

[Son of a Beach]

There's not a lot of detail, but the story was posted to the ABC news site earlier today, here.

Sounds like he was lucky to be able to get the assistance of a passing fishing boat who were then able to contact emergency services to get a helicopter flown in to pick him up.

[ollster]

Well I'll be. South Australians must be tastier than I remember.

[Drifting]

That's why we have those handy little EPIRBS

[ILUVSWTAS]

That's why we have those handy little EPIRBS

The fishing boat obviously did, the bushwalker should have had a PLB

[tasadam]

Seems he's out of hospital. There's this -
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/20 ... -news.html

And this... God bless America...
http://topnews.us/content/232027-bushwa ... s-hospital

Not much snake bites were witnessed in Tasmania,

and

He advised that in case if one gets bitten by snake, he/she should wrap double layer of bandages tightly over the victimized limb as it restricted the spread of venom.

Must be that US-English setting on the computer?

[doogs]

I am thinking of taking up journalism after reading the American article. You obviously do not have to have a high degree of literacy.

[photohiker]

That's why we have those handy little EPIRBS

The fishing boat obviously did, the bushwalker should have had a PLB

Exactly. Even more so as it would appear he was solo.

Not all crow-eaters are this silly. Perhaps the snake was trying to clean up the gene pool?

[wander]

The nature of his walk could be considered. There are numerous 30 to 90 minute walks that we woudl all do without a though and without an EPIRB on which we could come across a snake, be bitten by a spider, trip over and break a leg. But at most we take maybe a water bottle. It read a little (and here the journalist could have all wrong) as if it was a short wander rather than an expedition.

Maybe we should have EPIRB surgically implanted so we never forget em? Like microchips in dogs and cats.

I waiting for a story of a rescue that does not mention EPIRB but says "stay in doors, do not go out it is not safe".

[katief]

I completely agree with you Wander, the most I usually take on a short walk (in good weather) is water and my partner. Obviously depending on length of walk, terrain and weather conditions, this maybe added to. I always wear gaiters regardless of the conditions due to snakes, leeches and scrub. I have always thought that if one of us got hurt, the other could walk out to get help. Might start packing the hand-held UHF as well now... Surgically implanted EPIRB - bulky but effective

[walkinTas]

The problem here is there is not a lot of detail in the stories. What did he do to provoke the snake? How long was the walk? What did he have with him by way of comms and first aid gear? Where was he bitten and how severe was the bite? We simply don't know if he did anything wrong or if he was just unlucky, but he sure was lucky when it came to getting help.

There are over 3000 snake bites in Australia every year. The number of snake bites in Tasmania is very low and nearly always because the person handled the snake or made contact with the snake. It is still very rare that a bushwalker in Tasmania is bitten by a snake. Bandages and PLBs are good additions to the safe gear, but I think gaiters are a much better precaution, and simply leave snake alone when you see them is the best practice.

[photohiker]

The nature of his walk could be considered. There are numerous 30 to 90 minute walks that we woudl all do without a though and without an EPIRB on which we could come across a snake, be bitten by a spider, trip over and break a leg. But at most we take maybe a water bottle. It read a little (and here the journalist could have all wrong) as if it was a short wander rather than an expedition.

Maybe we should have EPIRB surgically implanted so we never forget em? Like microchips in dogs and cats.

I waiting for a story of a rescue that does not mention EPIRB but says "stay in doors, do not go out it is not safe".

Fair enough comment.

This doesn't look like a short 30 to 90 minute walk however. Here is a Link to Gorge Point on LISTmap, and here is a Link to Gorge Point on Google Maps.

I'm surprised he managed to attract the attention of a fishing boat! Might be his day to buy a lottery ticket...

[roseart]

The ABC in reporting the bush walker being eaten - opps being bitten by a snake mentioned that there are 3 types poisonous snakes in Tasmania.
I thought there are 2 types poisonous snakes in Tassie - tiger and copper head snakes.
Does anyone know what the 3rd type of poisonous snake might be

[Taurë-rana]

The little "whip" or white lipped snake - I believe it can kill a small child but not an adult.

[Taurë-rana]

And this... God bless America...
http://topnews.us/content/232027-bushwa ... s-hospital

This was surely written by someone for whom English is a second language - surely American English can't have deteriorated to that extent?

[Liamy77]

In point of fact, technically there are more than 3 types of potentially fatal-to-humans snakes if you count marine varieties....
http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000031b.htm

and remember in the USA they just change the words' spelling if their education system forgets to teach grammar and spelling!

[north-north-west]

The little "whip" or white lipped snake - I believe it can kill a small child but not an adult.

From memory, there has never been a recorded death from a whip snake (feel free to correct if I'm wrong). Very few (if any) from copperheads, either.
It's the tigers you really have to watch out for.

[ILUVSWTAS]

The little "whip" or white lipped snake - I believe it can kill a small child but not an adult.

From memory, there has never been a recorded death from a whip snake (feel free to correct if I'm wrong). Very few (if any) from copperheads, either.
It's the tigers you really have to watch out for.

Quite right. I've stood on Coppers and Whips, they just squirm to try and get away. I can only imagine if I trod on a tiger it would be a different story......

[north-north-west]

Well, I did tread on a tiger up on Farm Ridge last summer, but I think it must have just had a very big breakfast, because it just wriggled deeper into the scrub and tried to pretend it wasn't really there.
Maybe it was having a bad hair day.

[Drifting]

Man, according to that american article that was one nasty-looking brown snake that bit that guy. Who knew they were down there??? Probably sneaked over with a fox or two from Melbourne.