‘Could have been fatal’: Snake catcher pulls venomous reptile out of Melbourne childcare
When dropping your child off at day care, one of the last things that would cross your mind is a deadly snake slithering into the building.
But that is precisely what happened at a Diamond Creek childcare centre, in Melbourne’s north-east, until local snake catcher Mark Pelley stepped in.
Pelley swooped into a childcare centre to catch the fifth-deadliest snake in the world. @snakehunteraus
Pelley, who is known as the Snake Hunter, was mid-catch when nine.com.au called him but explained that he sprang into action after receiving an urgent call detailing how a tiger snake had snuck inside while the kids were getting ready to play.
“The door was open, and the snake crawled right through all the children and then went right near where they were putting the sunscreen on,” he said.
Despite a scenario that could have turned dangerous in an instant, Pelley credited the whip-smart response of one of the educators for preventing a tragedy.
“She just got the kids to back away, and then she evacuated everyone from the room, notified all the staff, and they all watched the snake crawling around the centre until I arrived.”
The reptile that Pelley was in the middle of catching when we called. @snakehunteraus
Navigating the response required absolute composure, and the man who’s been catching snakes since he was a kid delivered just that.
The 24/7 Snake Catcher is no stranger to wrangling the venomous predators, sometimes even two at once. @snakehunteraus
“The whole time I was driving there, I was thinking to myself how I’m going to calmly catch the snake,” Pelley said.
“Then I have to check my emotions because if I panic in a situation where children may have potentially been bitten, then that can make the situation worse.”
Upon arrival, Pelley focused on securing the world’s fifth-most venomous land snake and reassuring the shaken staff.
He gathered the educators to screen for potential bites on the kids, noting that young children often don’t realise what has happened.
“Children do not always report that a snake bit them, and sometimes you don’t even feel them bite,” Pelley said.
“It feels like you’ve been whacked on the leg by a stick or something, so you don’t actually realise you’re being bitten.”
After confirming no children had come into contact with the tiger snake, Pelley briefed teachers on snakebite symptoms, urging them to call Triple Zero immediately if they had any doubts.
He also reassured the worried staff that finding a second snake inside was extremely rare, reminding them that reptiles are naturally shy and won’t attack unless directly provoked, even in a room full of “little stampy children”.
“If one of the kids panicked, didn’t see the snake, or didn’t listen and accidentally stepped on it, that could have been a fatal situation,” he said.
The veteran snake catcher told nine.com.au that he caught his first one at seven years old, before he even knew they were venomous.
Now a professional snake catcher for more than a decade, he responds to up to 15 calls a day and boasts a social media following of more than 130,000 across Instagram and Facebook.
While encounters are terrifying, fatal bites remain extraordinarily rare thanks to snake catchers like Mark.
According to World Population Review data, Australia averages just 1.3 to two snakebite deaths per year, a rate of 0.01 per 100,000 people.
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