Comments by "Helmuth Schultes" (@helmuthschultes9243) on "American Reacts to Milking the MOST VENOMOUS SNAKE In the World - Australia" video.

  1. Ian, I am no longer inclined to catch snakes, at least not venomous ones. Yet if forced to, for example safety of children, would still with confidence go to the task of trying to catch one. At 71 years age I am not as fast or nimble as I was in my teens. Originally I kept lizards as pets, snakes were forbidden by mum except years later a non venomous python would have been allowed. But while hunting lizards and goanna, I did come across snakes at times, and as a result did learn catching and handling them. Over years I would have caught a dozen or so venomous snakes, including Brown red belly black, copperhead, tiger green tree snake (rear fang lower toxic venom), as well a few non venomous snakes. About 12 years ago north of Alice Springs, I could have made a serious error, driving along I saw a large snake as it slide into grass by the roadside. I stopped hoped out and searched. It was a central Taipan snake so effectively the most dangerous bar possibly the dessert Brown snake. But Taipan are very attack prone. I had no effective catch stick and gave up after 15min as I could not locate it, all time wandering around in knee-high grass and bushes. A few past tales.... In 1960s I had a friend in Boy Scouts, who was naturally immune to all but a couple of less common snakes. He kept and showed snakes and even demonstrated at times what a bite marked looks like, by letting one bite a hand or arm. He just washed the site, and as precaution gave a small dose of antiveneen, not that he suffered more than mild soreness maybe vomiting without. Still crazy as far as I was concerned. He apparently survived being bitten at age of 4months, and before 5 years of age several more times. By 10 he was barely affected if bitten. I possibly saved a number of people once. At our annual Agricultural show, there are also fun park and usual entertainment show tents. One was the SNAKE PIT, where a large canvas pit, like a moderate swimming pool was setup with lots of snakes in this pit. A person was demonstrating/showing various snakes. I payed and stood among a crowd of public at pit side. The demonstrator was about to show milking a snake of venom. He had his little glass tube, stretched aa thin rubber over it, then from a closed box, extracted a Tiger snake, about 2 1/2 ft long. With snake in one hand and glass tube he swung around for people to see and hear what he was going to show. THEN DISASTER, the snake somehow pulled free and laughed over the pit edge, into the crowd, right beside me. I without any intentional action, pure automatic, dipped down to belly level hooked my arm under the falling snake, and flung upwards, the snake arced over the demonstrator's head and landed back in to pit behind him. Had that snake fallen between all those legs in the panicked crowd there likely (certainly) would have been several bites. As it was, no one suffered more than a big fright. The demonstrator stared at me as I stood smiling. People were rushing from the tent area. He was very concerned that nobody was bitten and specifically asked me if I was OK, looking me over. To my reassurance calmed, to recapture the definitely venom potent snake back to its box, as I assume most of the pit snakes were actually well milked of venom or even largely defanged. Worth noting in following years the snake pit no longer had milking demonstration offered or performed, I think it was considered too hazardous as an environment given that near disaster. Strangely I did not even get a thank you. But likely the operators of that snake pit were too shocked by what had almost happened that their mind was in other thoughts. I went on with the rest of the show visit. During fishing by a Gippsland river, I almost stepped on a large Tiger snake, and as a number of others were also fishing there candidates children running around I decapitated the snake and hung it visible on the back of dad's 4WD, as warning that people must be careful and many children were then kept close by parents not running around the high grass and grass tussocks. Some packed up and left. But that area of river banks and durrounding flood Plains, IS PRIMARY HOME for these Tiger snakes on the way home many cars delayed passing and stared at the snake dangling on the rear of our vehicle. On the whole for most people they will never ever see a snake Auustralia is safe to visit!
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