Snakes alive! Another wildlife encounter

I am beginning to feel that Mother Nature is conspiring against me - last month it was nesting magpies swooping, this month it was a brown snake eyeing my bike and me as potential victims!

Last week, while out on a training ride in the hills around Toowoomba a brown snake and I happened to cross paths on the back roads of Meringandan. Now I am no chicken when it comes to wildlife encounters; I have been known to pick up spiders, frogs, lizards and other assortment of wildlife and put them back into the bushland for safety. But when it comes to snakes, I have an inherit fear and will hightail it out of their way as quickly as possible. In this instance the timing of the snake and I crossing paths did not allow me to plan my escape and I narrowly missed being struck, as the snake reared into an attack position and tried to take a chunk out of my rear tyre! My panicked scream would have been heard for miles! Thankfully this cyclist, bike, snake ménage a toi is not a common occurrence.

After I had pedalled off down the road at extremely high speed, and managed to get my heart rate back under 170bpm, I reflected on what actions could I have taken if I happened to have been bitten. There were some farmhouses in the distance, the last vehicle I had seen was over 20 minutes ago and I was unsure of the effectiveness of the mobile phone reception. And just what was that snake doing on the side of the road anyway - waiting for the chicken?

Reptile keeper at Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, Deon Gilbert was only too happy to answer my questions.

"The hot weather at this time of the year makes snakes, in particular female snakes, much more active. The female snakes would be on the lookout for nesting sites," Deon said.

"And it can be just about any species of snake, found in the region, who would be attempting to cross any roads at this time of the year. That does not mean they are any more dangerous to humans than at any other time, just a lot more active," he added.

Deon said it was highly unusual to have a snake attempt to attack a cyclist. "The snake would have been scared and probably trying to defend itself," he said, "and a snake's aim, at close range is fairly accurate, depending on the species."

Deon said if anyone was unlucky enough to be bitten by a snake then it was vitally important that the correct first aid procedures were used.

• Firstly - remain calm and do not move
• Apply a pressure bandage to the bite area about as tight as you would for a sprained ankle or wrist
• Continue the bandage to the extremity of the limb (toes or fingers) and then back to the armpit or hip
• Apply a splint and bandage again
• Get help to come to you.

This is where a female's ingenuity will have to come to the fore. You will probably only be wearing a jersey, a bra, socks and a pair of knicks. And it would be highly unlikely that you would be carrying a first aid kit in your cycle bag. A tyre tube would probably be your best bet to use as a bandage. Now you need to know how to take off a tyre!

And remember to wait until help gets to you!