Urban myth confirmed

As a kid I lived in fear of getting out of the car after a trip to the country. Everyone knew the story of the unfortunate driver who accidentally drove over a snake on the road, the snake then wrapping  itself around the differential only to drop on to the ground when the car stopped and biting the unfortunate person as they stepped out of the car.

As I have grown older I have also grown wiser also. I believed this to be an urban (or rural) myth. Until recently.

Last week a neighbour of mine was having trouble with the electrics of her car. She took it to the local mechanic. As the car was raised on the hoist a long cylindrical form draped down (see photo above). It was not the fan belt. It was the body of a dead Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) – although they did not know it was dead at the time. After much discussion and prodding it was determined that the snake was in fact deceased. Further investigation showed that the snake had worked its way into the headlight bracket where it had obviously got stuck (pictured below). One can only assume it was searching for food or warmth at the time (and then felt light-headed!).

In fairness to the myth, this probably did not happen whilst the car was moving.

So it is proof – if you find a snake under the bonnet of your car it could be an Australian Tiger Snake.

Of course if you find one on top of the bonnet it is most likely to be a German Vindscreen Viper.