# Do Tiger Snakes Really Chase People?



## Vikingtimbo (Sep 28, 2014)

Well, not really.

But occasionally they need to get to a hiding spot that's behind you. And if the snake happens to be an unusually grumpy one then he might be a bit pushy about how he goes about reaching that cover.

I came across this rather fiery Tiger on a very steep slope with little cover around, so he probably felt a bit insecure. His initial reaction to me was to strike within an inch of my leg; and later in the video he aggressively forced me backwards so he could reach the only cover nearby:

http://youtu.be/XQ0F_G-E1Fw


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## Spongy (Sep 28, 2014)

According to a lady in the environmental dept at the mine site I work at in WA, said at the snake awareness course recently that tiger snakes will chase you down the road and that gwarders( western browns) hang out in tree's and will bite you as you walk past them along the walking track. Lol


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## eipper (Sep 28, 2014)

Really Spongy that's terrible


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## Spongy (Sep 29, 2014)

Yep, i couldnt believe ther stuff that was coming out of her mouth. She reckons the most dangerous snake around site was the ringed brown, even though we have gwarders, mulga"s, butleri and adders? I think if was gonna get nailed by one of them, i would choose ringed brown. lol


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## bdav70 (Sep 29, 2014)

Not sure i'd be trusting that snake awareness course!


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## BrownHash (Sep 29, 2014)

I would assume the enviro wasn't running the snake awareness course. Usually they get people in that know a thing or two about snakes to run those.

One of the common issues I find with snakes is that everyone seems to have an opinion on them. Unfortunately those opinions are based on stories and rumours. For this reason I ignore what most people have to say about them.


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## Spongy (Sep 29, 2014)

She was an environmental dept employee doing a system generated power point display at monthly safety meeting for the maint dept. Most mine sites I have been at get people up to do snake handling courses, but get ill informed people who usually open the rubbish dump for the cleaning contractors to dump rubbish or do weed inspections on vehicles coming to site, telling people that snakes will chase them down the road, and the guys in the room taking it as gospel? Funny.


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## Channaz (Sep 30, 2014)

Nice fiesty tiger


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## Vikingtimbo (Oct 1, 2014)

Channaz said:


> Nice fiesty tiger



Yeah it was awesome! This snake was really acrobatic too, doing a back flip and stuff.

I've had to experience literally thousands of Tiger Snake encounters to have one that most would people think is "normal". And disappointingly I remain bite-free :-(

Worst of all, my Ambulance Victoria subscription is still unused. So there's another $41.30 down the drain, stupid snake!


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## Channaz (Oct 1, 2014)

Long may there be tigers in the suburbs of Melbourne


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## Bart70 (Oct 7, 2014)

Hoop snakes...They are the ones your gotta watch!......When they spin around, bite their tail and form a 'hoop' so they can roll down the road chasing you they can really get up a head of steam.......:shock: :? 

Nice Tiger by the way....They sure can get fiesty. I came 'head to head' with one this time last year on the inlaws farm....he going one way, me and my boy going the other. He was very placid and calm thankfully.....


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## -Peter (Oct 8, 2014)

Nice, like your lack of emotive chatter. Fearsome as opposed to aggressive.


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## Vikingtimbo (Oct 8, 2014)

-Peter said:


> Nice, like your lack of emotive chatter. Fearsome as opposed to aggressive.



Well put Peter. The video was notable for the fact that the snake was in the top one percent of "fearsome" Tigers I've ever met... but I'm still yet to meet a genuinely aggressive one!!

Even the snake's terrifying initial ambush was actually harmless, just a very firm way of saying "I'm here and I'm not happy". Any normal, sensible person or animal would've immediately left the scene unharmed. If I'd come to harm after that it would've been purely my own stupid fault.


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## Channaz (Oct 9, 2014)

I don't remember who it was, but someone told me a while back that tigers are a very polite species of snake... they always give you a warning, or more than one, before they would ever strike.

I like that quote, although yes, the same could be said about most elapids.


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## Vikingtimbo (Oct 9, 2014)

Channaz said:


> I don't remember who it was, but someone told me a while back that tigers are a very polite species of snake... they always give you a warning, or more than one, before they would ever strike.
> 
> I like that quote, although yes, the same could be said about most elapids.



That's absolutely true, from memory that quote might have included the phrase "gentlemen snake", which Tigers most definitely are. Even the most terrifying attacks are generally just stern warnings.

Apologies for the long post but Tigers are my passion. I've met literally hundreds of them and had thousands of encounters and I'd have to say that only maybe three of them (including this one) have ever given me reason to be scared. That's not counting a few freak incidents like stepping on them or stepping over them or whatever; those are "my bad" 

Almost all Tigers just run for cover (I've seen that literally MORE than a thousand times, it's what they do). If you startle one at close quarters because it was asleep or had it's eyes hidden then it MIGHT put on a brief threat display before disappearing, if you're lucky.

One snake I came across refused to hide but endlessly "attacked" me, aiming all of its it's strikes in completely the wrong direction!! Another made a point of coming up on top of the vegetation to hiss and strike at me, but never actually tried to hurt me;

Just a few times ever I've had one launch a seemingly dangerous attack like the one in the video, which although terrifying was actually harmless. 

But every individual snake is different, and every species probably has its psychopaths, individuals which in human society would be doing ten to life in prison  

One snake I came across might be in that league. The winter before last I found a snake that was, basically, a complete psycho. He came out to bask in all weather - in winter - no matter how cold or overcast. He'd hide from me if he had ample warning, but otherwise would stand his ground and launch endless attacks, including well aimed genuine bites. When he eventually chose to seek cover in his accustomed hide he was always prepared to go straight through me if I was in his way, trying to bite if I so much as moved a muscle. But like I said, that bloke would probably be in jail by now, so no need to worry 

Seriously, there's no such thing as a dangerous Tiger Snake as long as you're prepared to leave them alone and haven't been unlucky enough to step on one. And I HAVE stepped on one, and have still never been bitten. Their reputation is unfairly against them, and their ranking as "World's Fourth Most Venomous Snake" doesn't help matters.

My feeling is that, in a rapidly shrinking natural world, they don't need a shovel, they need a cuddle


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