A woman enjoying one last bike ride before heading home from her holiday was rushed to hospital after accidentally riding over a highly venomous snake on a popular rail trail.
Emergency services and a snake catcher were called to the Northern Rivers Rail Trail at Burringbar, NSW, about 30 minutes north-west of Byron Bay, on Wednesday after the cyclist was bitten by an eastern brown snake that became trapped in her bicycle chain.
Snake catcher Sarah Mailey, from I’ll Catch It Snake Relocations, said the woman was taken to hospital by ambulance and was being treated for a suspected bite.
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The eastern brown is regarded as Australia’s second-most venomous land snake, with venom that attacks the nervous system and blood clotting, making bites potentially fatal without urgent medical treatment.
Later on Wednesday, Mailey said it was believed to be a dry bite but cautioned she was “not out of the woods just yet”.
Doctors monitored her closely overnight amid fears the venom could still take effect hours after the incident.
Relief came on Thursday morning when the woman was discharged after doctors confirmed the bite was dry.
“She got discharged this morning and her husband picked her up,” Mailey told 7NEWS.com.au
“A member of the public was so kind and dropped the bikes back.”
The snake was not as fortunate. When Mailey arrived, the snake was still entwined in the bicycle.
With the snake still alive, Mailey first restrained its head before members of the public and NSW Police helped dismantle parts of the bicycle to free the tangled eastern brown.
“I’ve got him. I’m not going to let him go,” she reassured rescuers in a video shared online.
Mailey rushed the injured reptile to the nearest wildlife hospital, about 30 minutes away, but its injuries were too severe to survive.
“Unfortunately the injuries were mid-body where all the vital organs are,” she said.
“The snake had to be euthanised.”
Mailey believes the eastern brown’s impaired vision may have contributed to the incident.
“The snake was blind in one eye, which is why I think it didn’t see the bike coming,” she said.
“Snakes have poor vision, but they notice movement and vibrations. That one could only rely on vibrations, so I think it didn’t move out of the way in time.”
While cyclists striking snakes is not unheard of, Mailey said she had never encountered one becoming entangled in a bicycle chain.
“Those incidents have happened before many times, but this one was a first for me,” she said.
“There are always tricky situations in wildlife rescue.”
“I’ve had tree snakes in Christmas trees, and last week I had a fox trying to eat a python that was still alive in its mouth, so I had to deal with that.”
In a social media update, I’ll Catch It Snake Relocations said snake bites are often painless and symptoms can be delayed, urging anyone who has been bitten — or suspects they have been bitten — to call Triple-0, apply a pressure bandage, immobilise the affected limb and remain as still as possible until help arrives.
