Saturday, October 9, 2010

What You Don't Know Could Kill You



This week's theme is stripes.
When I came across this guy taking a nap on the Eyer Peninsula I had no idea that it is the 5th most venomous snake in the world and probably the fastest of all Australian snakes when it comes to striking a victim. I also was unaware that unlike most snakes, the Death Adder will not necessarily retreat from humans. Now that I understand how dangerous a Death Adder can be, the next time I come across a snake with dark brown and black stripes I will be more cautious.
The Common Death Adders, which can reach 100 centimeters in length, are found over much of eastern and coastal southern Australia. Their natural habitat includes forest, woodlands, grasslands and heathlands. Due to its band stripes, it is a master of camouflage and can easily hide underneath leaf litter and debris. 

23 comments:

  1. Great shot of the scary snake. That is good to know which ones are dangerous. I'm not good at identifying snakes so I keep my distance from all of them. Happy weekend.

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  2. OMG, Maya, I don't think I want to go hiking with you -- you seem to see so many snakes while out and about! ;O

    (On a blog note: there seems to be something wrong with Blogger this morning -- had to press refresh a few times before I could catch sight of the scarily named Death Adder...)

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  3. Yes well Australia does have some very venomous snakes. Growing up and wandering in the bush, I was always terrified of snakes. Was that a black one or a brown one or....?

    Where I live now, it's only a garter snake I see.

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  4. Creepy! Great find for the theme. :)

    Have a great weekend!

    My "STRIPES" is here.

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  5. oh my, snakes of any kind gives me the creeps. you're so brave to take this shot up close.

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  6. oh my, i have goosebumps reading this. scary fat guy!:p

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  7. YIKES! I hate hate hate snakes. I found stripes in the sky :)

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  8. A scary photo, but I learned something new!! Yes,I too hate snakes!!

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  9. OMG!!!! Not nice ;-) But though a níce post.

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  10. i thought its an animal. its a snake after all. great shot. good thing it did not attack you.

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  11. Uh-oh, that is NOT a good snake to be photographing unawares! I trust you will be more careful in the future...

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  12. Oh my! I hate snakes! But I love your courage with this shot! Happy HUnting! :)

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  13. How far or close were you when you had this photo taken? I don't think I'd be able to :(


    Sreisaat Adventures

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  14. Yikes, now that;s a snake to be photographed with a long telephoto! Great take on the theme!

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  15. wow, that is pretty scary! Great stripes though.

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  16. Great find. I just stay away from any creatures like that. I don't know one venemous snake from the other,............ and wouldn't get that close to them sleeping or not. Have a great day.

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  17. HI Maya, eek.... A great photo and choice for this week's theme. Even it's name, Death Adder, sounds scary.

    Have a wonderful snakefree weekend.

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  18. Shudder! :-O

    http://thepaganeye.blogspot.com/2010/10/photo-hunter-stripes.html

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  19. This picture gives me the shivers. I have such an aversion to snakes. You were brave... very brave.

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  20. yikes, this kind of stripe scares the heck out of me.

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  21. I love snakes but I would be cautious if I ran across a pit viper in its own habitat. Very cool picture and definitely striped!

    I went for natural stripes too. http://healingmagichands.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/photohunt-stripes/

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  22. I am SO not a snake fan! We have copperheads where I live, but they're pretty easy to spot.

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