Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Territory WildLife Park Manager Visitor Experience and Animal Expert Simon Ferguson

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Territory WildLife Park Manager Visitor Experience and Animal Expert Simon Ferguson · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are due to Well to catch up and talk
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: about the situation with snakes at this point in time
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: around the territory. I know that there's been quite a
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: few more snake sightings. But then there were three people
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: who were treated after being bitten by snakes, all in
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: separate incidents. Earlier in the week. There was an eight
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: year old girl. There was then a forty five year
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: old man in Tenant Creek. The eight year old girl,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: I understand that she was beaten after the snakes slithered
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: out from underneath a fridge when she went to open it.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: It's the stuff that nightmares are made of, if you
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: ask me. And then there was also in Nightcliff earlier
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: in the week, Well paramedics were called out to treat
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: a twenty five year old man who was also bitten
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: by a snake. Now joining us on the line to
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about snakes around the territory
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: is Territory Wildlife Park manager and visitor experience and animal
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: expert Simon Ferguson.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Simon.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: Good morning, How are you going.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Y're really good.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning, Simon.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: I was just detailing these three snake bite incidents that
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: have occurred throughout this week. Is it a time of
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: year or you know, is there more snakes around at
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the moment or is it just an unlucky coincidence.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I think it's a little bit of all three rolled
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: into one. So it is very unlikely for us to
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: have three butts in such quick succession here in the NT. Certainly,
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: the amount of snakes doesn't change throughout the year. They're
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: either just hiding or active this time of year, though
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: they are a little bit more active obviously in the
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: top end. Our temperatures are up, we've got a bit
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: of rain and that will often increase our snake activity.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: Down in Tenant though, they've had quite a bit of
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: rain this week, So I suspect what's happened down there
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: is potentially some of the snakes have been flooded out
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: of their regular hiding spots and they might be out
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: and about on the move, increasing the chances of interacting
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: with people.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: So is that the case when there's a bit more
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: rain about. Obviously, the snakes, depending on how much rain
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: there is, they may not be able to hide as
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: well as what they usually would.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, down in ten and it's usually fairly arid,
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: so for most times of the year. Yeah, snakes can
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: shelter away intact in the ground and that sort of thing.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: But they've had a phenomenal amount of rain down there
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: this week, which is great for the countryside, So a
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: lot of those hiding spots that the snakes would be
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: regularly using, yeah, might be filled up with water at
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: the moment.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: And what about for us up here in the top end,
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: is there a certain type of snake that we see
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: more of or you know, is it this time of
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: the year that we see more of them about or not?
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Really, we do.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: See more through wet season. A lot of our snacks
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: are nocturnal and a lot of them will be sort
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: of stimulated by an afternoon shower, so that may increase
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: their activity patterns. Obviously it's warmer, so they'll be about
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: looking for more foods as their metabolays will have increased
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: as well. So snakes are certainly more active in the
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: Top End through our wet season. And yeah, we always
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: need to be vigilant though and keeping an eye out
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: for them.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Simon, what can we do? I mean, if
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: you've got a snake in your home? Or firstly, if
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: you've got a snake in your home, what's the best
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: advice for people?
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so do not try to catch it or kill it.
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: That's when people invariably get fit. Yes, the best thing
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: to do is from a space distance, keep an eye
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: on the snake. There is a government led snake catcher
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: service in Catherine, Darwin and Ala Springs, so if you
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: are in those locations call the snake catcher number. They
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: will come and retrieve the snake. The best thing to
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: do though, is to assist them is to maintain a
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: safe distance, don't try to interact with the snake and
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: just try to keep an eye on it so that
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: they know where to look for it when they arrive.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Snakes are a natural part of our ecosystem and they
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: fulfill very important roles, so we need to have them
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: around us. But obviously we don't need to be bitten
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: and they don't need to be in our homes, so
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: that snow catching service is absolutely brilliant for that.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: And when it comes to those snake bites, I know
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: that obviously you're not a paramedic, but what's the best
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: thing for people to do?
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So with in Australia, we do. You get a
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: few bites each year, but the number of deaths that
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: we have from snake bite each year is absolutely, very
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: very low, And the reason for that is that most
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: of us are trained in their state or have some
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: basic understanding of their stage. So, yeah, lying the patient
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: down and keeping them calm is incredibly important. Applying that
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: pressure bandage is also incredibly important. And yeah, getting access
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: to medical treatment is incredibly important. So don't move the victim,
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: get the paramedics to come to them, keep them calm,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: and get that pressure bandage on is the absolute best
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: thing to do. Obviously, try to try to avoid being Yeah,
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: up here in the top end, a lot of our
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: snakes are actually non venomous, but were everyone to treat
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: everything as venimous until proven otherwise.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Simon you are You're obviously the territory wildlife park manager
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: and of visitor experience, but you're also an animal expert.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Have you ever been bitten by a snake?
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: I have something that I'm proud of you. I've worked
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: with snakes over in many capacities. I've not been bitten
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: by anything venamous, but I have had accidental feeding bits
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: from python.
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  Speaker 2: But I would be proud of that. I'd be like,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: yeah a snake.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: No, through good husbandry, we don't try to get no.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: But I would imagine, you know, in the in the
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: job that you do, in the wonderful job that you do,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: that sometimes it would, you know, like sometimes well, you're
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: in a situation that a lot of us never ever
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: even come close to. You know, you're dealing with the
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: wildlife in ways that people like me just never ever experience.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: This is true. Unfortunately, it is part of the game
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: that occasionally we do end up more scratched by our beloved.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, oh for sure, Now, mate, I understand you guys
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: have probably got heaps of stuff on as well in
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: the leading to Christmas and over the holiday period, lots
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: of exciting stuff happening out at the Territory Wildlife Park.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, I mean we're we're predicting a pretty nice attendance
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: o their Christmas and New Yarths period. I just spect
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: that a lot of people have visitors coming up from
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: down South, and what better place to bring them than
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: the Territory Wildlife Park and give them a taste of
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: the top end obviously, our nocturnal health and our aquarium
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: as fullier condition so gives a nice little rest but
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: from the heat. But we've got our full program of
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: daily talks and keep your presentations running throughout the day.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: And I'm just a reminder that our wet season trading
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: hours nine to three pm, so come out early while
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: it's cooler, enjoy the animals while they're active, and go
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: home and have an afternoon lap.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Great advice, I reckon, I might have to do that
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: over the Christmas holiday period.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Simon, lovely to talk to you today.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for coming on the show
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: and giving us that advice when it comes to snakes.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: No worries. Merry Christmas to everyone, and.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Take care you too, Thanks Simon.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: That's Simon Ferguson there from the Territory Wildlife part