Brown Snakes: Species, Characteristics, Behavior, Venom, Bite Victims | Sea Life, Islands and Oceania

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BROWN SNAKES

Montage showing the range of color variation among brown snake species in Western Australia,

Brown snakes refer to snakes in the Pseudonaja genus of highly venomous elapid snakes native to Australia and New Guinea. They are considered to be some of the most dangerous snakes in the world; even young snakes are capable of delivering a fatal envenomation to a human.

Brown snakes account for most of most of Australia's snake bite deaths even though the toxin of some species is less potent than some other venomous, Australian snakes. This is because there are more of them (17 whip and brown snake species are lumped together in a single genus) and they commonly found in farming areas. Brown snakes have extremely large venom glands. They also consume other snakes. Without antivenom 10 percent of all cases result in death.

Species of brown snake:
Gwardars (Pseudonaja mengdeni) are also known as western brown snakes. They live in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) live in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, south-eastern West Papua, and both south-eastern (Central Province) and north-eastern (Oro and Milne Bay Provinces) Papua New Guinea.
Northern brown snakes (Pseudonaja nuchalis) live in Northern Territory, Queensland.
Ringed brown snakes (Pseudonaja modesta) live in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.
King brown snakes (Pseudechis australis) are not a brown snakes, but a member of the genus Pseudechis, commonly known as black snakes.
Dugites (Pseudonaja affinis) are also known as or spotted brown snakes .
subspecies: P. a. affinis live in coastal mainland Western Australia.
P. a. exilis live in mainland Western Australia and Rottnest Island.
P. a. tanneri live in mainland Western Australia, Boxer Island, and other islands.
Strap-snouted brown snakes (Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha) live in inland eastern Australia.
Speckled brown snakes (Pseudonaja guttata) are also known as spotted brown snakes. They live in Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.
Peninsula brown snakes (Pseudonaja inframacula) live in South Australia, Western Australia, Eyre Peninsula.
Ingram's brown snakes (Pseudonaja ingrami) live in Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.

Brown Snake Venom and Bites

Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) are the most toxic brown snakes. They are considered by some to be the second-most venomous land snake in the world, after inland taipans (which are also found in Australia). Western brown snakes are the 10th-most venomous snakes in the world. [Source: Wikipedia]

Brown snakes are easily alarmed and may bite if approached closely, handled, or threatened. A bite from Australian brown snake results in the slow onset of cardiac and respiratory distress. The poison from this snake is many times more powerful than that of American rattlesnakes, yet the mortality rate is moderate if antivenom is given in time. Brown snakes can easily harm pet animals and livestock.

range of different brown snake species

The venom fangs of brown snakes are very short, and the average yield of venom per bite is relatively low—for Eastern brown snakes, Gwardars, and Dugites, about 4.0 to 6.5 mg dry weight of venom. Therefore, most of the bites end up without serious medical consequences. The smallest brown snakes — Ringed brown snakes — can even be considered harmless. Bites by the bigger species of brown snake, especially Eastern brown snakes and Gwardars, are known for causing serious health problems and fatalities.

Symptoms from brown snake bites include abdominal pain, breathing and swallowing difficulty, convulsions, ptosis (droopy eyelids), hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells), and hypotension (low blood pressure) from depression of myocardial contractility (heart muscle functioning). Notably, brown snake envenomation does not result in rhabdomyolysis (release of damaged skeletal muscle tissue into the bloodstream) . Sudden, early collapse is often a symptom of envenomation by highly venomous brown snakes. A prominent effect of envenomation is venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (excessive clotting, leading to the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body), which can lead to death. Renal damage may also rarely occur.

Brown Snake Bite Victims

Brown snakes accounted for 41 percent of identified snakebite victims in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with 15 deaths recorded from 296 confirmed envenomations—far more than any other type of snake. Review of snakebite-related deaths in the National Coronial Information System from January 2000 to December 2016 revealed brown snakes were responsible for 23 of 35 deaths. [Source: Wikipedia]

Some brown snake fatalities
In 1910, a brown snake bit and killed Howard Thomas in Queensland
In July 1926, a brown snake bit and killed 29-year-old Maud Frances Byden in Queensland. She was trying to bag a 1.2-meter (4-foot) -long brown snake and it bit her above the knee.
In August 1930, a brown snake bit and killed 25-year-old Ernest Christian Neimi near Ingham, Queensland. He stepped on the snake and it bit him on the ankle. He cut the wound and applied a ligature (a tourniquet or tourniquet-like bind) and took a local antidote. He was rushed to hospital where he died.
On March 15, 1934, a brown snake bit and killed 56-year-old Archibald Thompson in Greta, New South Wales. He was bitten while in the bush. He was scarified (cutting the skin so blood flows out of the body, presumably to flush venom) and ligature was applied.
In August 1939, a brown snake bit and killed 52-year-old Oley J. Kalloch in Queensland. He was found five to seven days after his death by a fellow miner and friend, Kalloch had written his will in charcoal on a piece of newspaper, saying he was bitten by a big brown snake. There was a ligature on his leg and his big toe was lanced for scarifying.

In January 1973, a brown snake bit and killed 38-year-old Leonard Sacco in Glenlyon, Queensland. He was bitten while out shooting rabbits.
In June 1973, a brown snake bit and killed 55-year-old John Murphy in Charters Towers, Queensland. He did not consider the bite serious and didn't seek care until he collapsed five hours later.

On January 2, 2006, a brown snake bit and killed 20-year-old Bevan Corbett in Cobar, New South Wales. He was bitten repeatedly while jogging.
On December 3, 2012, a brown snake bit and killed 80-year-old Colin Field in Wilsons Plains, Queensland.
On August 17, 2015, an unconfirmed snake, possibly a speckled brown snake, tiger snake or dugite bit and killed Anna Wortham in South Fremantle, Western Australia. She was bitten on the heel while out walking.
On October 25, 2015, a brown Snake or taipan (Unconfirmed) bit and killed a 62-year-old man in Townsville, Queensland.

Man Dies Trying to Remove a Brown Snake from a Childcare Center

In March 2024, an Australian man — 47-year-old Jerromy Brookes — died after being bitten multiple times by a brown snake that he was trying catch, bag and remove from a childcare centre. After receiving the bites, he then drove to his home in Deeragun to tell his wife. The Queensland Ambulance Services said: “One patient was transported to Townsville Hospital in a critical condition after a snake bite at a private address at 3.24pm.” [Source: George Styllis, The Telegraph, March 20, 2024]

The ABC said Brookes was found in cardiac arrest with multiple bites to his left arm. He was taken to the Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition but did not survive. A spokesman for the Queensland Ambulance Services said paramedics believe he was bitten by a brown snake. Paula Marten, the ambulance service’s acting director, said Brookes drove to his wife after the attack, who immediately immobilised the limb and applied compression bandages. After noticing certain symptoms, she contacted the emergency services.

Ms Marten said Brooke’s wife’s course of action was “absolutely” correct. “If you’re not aware of snakes, then treat them all as if they are venomous — contact triple zero [the emergency phone number] and apply the basic first aid measures,” she said.

Eastern Brown Snakes

Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) are considered the world's second-most venomous land snake after the inland taipan based on its LD50 value (subcutaneous) in mice. Often referred to as common brown snake and native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea, they have a slender build and can grow to two meters (7 feet) in length. Their back and sides range in color from pale brown to black, while their undersides are pale cream-yellow, often with orange or grey splotches. Eastern brown snakes are found in most habitats except dense forests. They like farmland and are often found in the suburbs of cities and large towns, putting them in close contact with humans, as these places are populated with their main prey — house mice. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List they are classified as a species of “Least Concern”.

Eastern Brown Snakes live mostly in eastern Australia and are responsible for more human fatalities than any other snake species in Australia. Their venom is very powerful, containing powerful toxins that can cause paralysis and internal bleeding. The initial bite is often painless, according to the Australian Museum. "They're the only snakes in the world that regularly kill people in under 15 minutes," Bryan Fry, who studies venom at the University of Queensland, told ABC News in 2024. "Even more insidiously than that is that for the first 13 minutes, you're going to feel fine." They generally hunt during the day. Many eastern brown snake bites are the result of people trying to kill them. [Source Jeanna Bryner, Live Science, August 31, 2021]

Tiffany Hoy wrote in Australian Geographic: Fast-moving, aggressive and known for their bad temper, eastern brown snakes raise their body off the ground, winding into an ‘S’ shape, mouth gaping open and ready to strike if disturbed, Their venom causes progressive paralysis and stops the blood from clotting, which may take many doses of antivenom to reverse. Victims may collapse within a few minutes. [Source: Tiffany Hoy,Australian Geographic, July 25, 2012]

Eastern Brown Snake Characteristics

Eastern brown snakes have an average build with no demarcation between their head and neck. Their snout appears rounded when viewed from above. Most are about up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in length, with the largest one recorded being 2.4 meters (7.9 feet). Snakes from northern populations tend to be larger than those from southern populations. The fangs of eastern brown snakes are small compared to those of other Australian venomous snakes, averaging 2.8 millimeters (0.11 inches) in length or up to 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) in larger specimens, and are 11 millimeters (0.43 inches) apart. Their tongue is dark. Their irises are blackish with a paler yellow-brown or orange ring around the pupil. [Source: Wikipedia]

Adults range in color from pale to dark brown, or sometimes shades of orange or russet on their back and sides. Those from Merauke have tan to olive upper parts, while those from eastern Papua New Guinea are very dark grey-brown to blackish. The snakes’ chin and under parts are cream or pale yellow, sometimes fading to brown or grey-brown towards the tail. Often, orange, brown, or dark grey blotches occur on the under parts. Juveniles can vary in markings, but generally have a black head, with a lighter brown snout and band behind, and a black nuchal band. Their bodies can be uniform brown, or have many black bands, or a reticulated pattern, with all darker markings fading with age.

eastern brown snake

The yellowish undersides of eastern brown snakes helps distinguish them dugites and peninsula brown snakes, which are entirely brown or brown with grey under parts. Eastern brown snakes have flesh-pink skin inside their mouth, while northern brown snakes and western brown snakes have black skin. Large eastern brown snakes are often confused with mulga snakes. The two species inhabit many of the same areas. Eastern brown snakes can be distinguished from mulgas by their smaller heads.

Eastern Brown Snake Behavior, Diet and Reproduction

Eastern brown snakes are generally solitary, and females and younger males avoid adult males. They are active during the day, though they may retire in the heat of hot and to come out again in the late afternoon. They are most active in spring. At night, they retire to a crack in the soil or burrow that has been used by a house mouse, or — less commonly — a skink, rat, or rabbit. During the winter, they hibernate, emerging on warm days to sunbathe, with males hibernating and emerging earlier than females. Concrete slabs of houses have been used by eastern brown snakes hibernating in winter, with 13 recorded coiled up together under a 5-×-3-meter (16-×-10-foot) slab of a demolished house. [Source: Wikipedia]

Eastern brown snakes are very fast. Australian naturalist David Fleay reported that they can outpace a person running at full speed. When they feel threatened, eastern brown snakes reacts with one of two neck displays. During a partial display, the snake raises the front part of its body horizontally just off the ground, flattening its neck and sometimes opening its mouth. In a full display, the snake rises up vertically high off the ground, coiling its neck into an S shape, and opening its mouth. The snake is able to strike more accurately from a full display and more likely to deliver an envenomed bite. Due to the snake's height off the ground in full display, the resulting bites are often on the victim's upper thigh.

The main prey of eastern brown snakes are introduced house mice. Mammals as large as feral rabbits have been taken. Small birds, eggs, and even other snakes are also consumed. Snakes in areas of natural vegetation or paddocks for stock eat a higher proportion of reptiles, while those in crop fields eat more mice. Small lizards such as skinks are more commonly eaten than frogs, as eastern brown snakes forage some distance from water. Eastern brown snake appears to hunt by sight more than other snakes. They often raise their head like a periscope to survey the landscape for prey when foraging. Eastern brown snakes generally capture prey in burrows or shelters rather than chasing them while they flee. They rarely eats during winter, and females rarely eat while pregnant with eggs. The eastern brown snake has been observed coiling around and constricting prey to immobilise and subdue it. It has been suggested they may do this with some reptiles because their small fangs can’t pierce the reptile’s skin.

large eastern brown snake rearing up and coiling its neck into an S shape

Eastern brown snakes are oviparous, meaning that young are hatched from eggs. They generally breed from beginning in early October — during the Southern Hemisphere spring. Males fight with other males for access to females. Fighting males have been compared with a plaited rope. The most dominant male mates with females in his area. The females produce 10 to 35 eggs at one time, with the eggs typically weighing 8.0 grams (0.28 ounce) each. The eggs are laid in a sheltered spot, such as a burrow or hollow inside a tree stump or rotting log. Several females may even use the same location, such as a rabbit warren. Eggs incubated at 25°C (77°F) hatch after 95 days, while those at 30°C (86°F) hatch after 36 days. Eastern brown snakes can reach sexual maturity by 31 months of age, and have been reported to live up to 15 years in captivity.

Eastern Brown Snake Venom

The main effects of eastern brown snake venom are on the circulatory system — coagulopathy (excessive clotting, leading to the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body), hemorrhaging (bleeding), cardiovascular collapse, and cardiac arrest. One of the main components of the venom is the prothrombinase complex pseutarin-C, which breaks down prothrombin (a protein produced by the liver that plays a crucial role in blood clotting). [Source: Wikipedia]

A third of eastern brown snake bite victims experience severe hypotension (low blood pressure) and collapse and thrombotic microangiopathy (formation of microscopic blood clots in small blood vessels, leading to the destruction of red blood cells), severe hemorrhaging and cardiac arrest. Other common symptoms include nausea and vomiting, diaphoresis (sweating), and abdominal pain. Acute kidney injury and seizures can also occur. The Onset of symptoms can be rapid, with a headache developing in 15 minutes and clotting abnormalities within 30 minutes; collapse has been recorded as occurring as little as two minutes after being bitten. Death is due to cardiovascular causes such as cardiac arrest or brain hemorrhaging. Often, little local reaction occurs at the site of the bite — two fang marks around one centimeter apart.

Eastern brown snake yields an average of under 5 milligrams of venom per milking, less than other dangerous Australian snakes, with volume of venom produced largely dependent on the size of the snake.The venom's murine median lethal dose (LD50) has been measured at 41 μg/kg—when using 0.1% bovine serum albumin in saline rather than saline alone—to 53 μg/kg when administered subcutaneously. The lethal dose for humans is just 3 milligrams.

Brown snake antivenom has been available since 1956. Before this, tiger snake antivenom was used, with minimal result. Antivenom for brown snakes was initially difficult to make as the species was hard to catch, and the amount of venom the snakes produced was generally insufficient for horse immunisation, though these challenges were eventually overcome.

Eastern Brown Snake Bites

A field study in farmland around Leeton, New South Wales that monitored 455 encounters between eastern brown snakes and humans found that the snake withdrew around half the time and tried to hide for almost all remaining encounters. In only 12 encounters did the snake advance. Researchers noted that snakes were more likely to dark clothing and move away early, reducing the chance of a close encounter. Close encounters were more likely if a person were walking slowly. [Source: Wikipedia

In 1913, an eastern brown snake bit and killed Garnett See in La Perouse, New South Wales at a snake show.
In 1993, an eastern brown snake bit and killed a 50-year-old male in Bundaberg, Queensland.
On January 14, 2007, an eastern brown snake bit and killed a 16-year-old boy in Whalan, New South Wales> He was bitten on hand. It is believed his trek to find help in hot conditions may have advanced the spread of venom.
On March 10, 2007, an eastern brown snake bit and killed nine-year-old Milena Swilks in Rocky River, New South Wales. She was bitten on her foot in a vegetable patch and died two hours later.
On November 2, 2011, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 42-year-old Narelle Pails, in Warwick, Queensland.
On November 17, 2011, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 35-year-old Andrew Smith in Emerald, Queensland,
On October 8, 2012, an brown snake bit and killed Ashley Leishman, a 26-year-old male, in Miles, Queensland.
On November 2, 2013, a 59-year-old female was most likely bitten by an Eastern brown snake in Glen Oak, New South Wales,
On February 5, 2016, an eastern brown snake bit and killed a 6-year-old girl in Walgett, New South Wales.
On January 10, 2018, An eastern brown snake bit and killed 24-year-old Brent Crough, in Tamworth, New South Wales.
On April 19, 2018, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 46-year-old Aaron Bryant in Deeragun, Queensland. He carried the snake over to a neighbor to see if he could identify it, saying it had bitten him. He collapsed shortly afterwards.

On January 30, 2020, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 76-year-old Roger Taylor in Vale View, Queensland. He passed out in Princess Alexandra hospital several days after being bitten approximately four times by a brown snake while moving nets at his Vale View property. Initially unaware of severity, the victim drove approximately 30 minutes to Toowoomba to attend a gathering where he collapsed and hit his head.

On September 20, 2020, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 40-year-old Timote Ongosia, in Dimbulah, Queensland. The Tongan seasonal fruit picker died in Cairns Hospital two days later.
On November 2, 2022, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 55-year-old Michelle Geary, in Gayndah, Queensland.
In 28 January 2023, Suspected An eastern brown snake bit and killed Unknown, 60s male, Kensington Grove, Queensland
On October 24, 2023, a suspected eastern brown snake bit and killed a 25-year-old male in Nullawil, Victoria. He was bitten while working at a grain receival site, and later died in hospital.
On March 20, 2024, an eastern brown snake bit and killed 47-year-old male Jerromy Brookes in Deeragun, Queensland. He suffered multiple snake bites on his left arm at a childcare centre, and later died in hospital.
On November 27, 2024, an eastern brown snake bit and killed Beau Horan, a 16-year-old male, in Gladstone, Queensland. He was bitten on the foot at home, later died in hospital.

In January 2014, an eastern brown snake was found curled up in the underwear drawer of a three-year-old boy in the Melbourne area, and shown in a social media video posted by Mark Pelley, a pest control specialist known "The Snake Hunter," who was called in to remove it. In 2022, a woman found a brown snake hiding in her antique radiogram cabinet.[Source: Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, January 16, 2024]

Western Brown Snakes

Western brown snake(Pseudonaja mengdeni) are also known as Mengden's brown snakes and gwardar. Widespread over most of mainland Australia but absent from the wetter areas of eastern Australia and southwestern Western Australia, they reach lengths of two meters (6.6 feet) and have an an average length of 1.2 meters (3.7 feet). They have a slender body and narrow head and are highly variable in color and patterns, ranging from light brown to almost black. The two most distinct forms are ‘Orange with black head’ or ‘Pale head, grey nape’. The undersides of these snakes is often cream, yellow, orange, or grey, frequently with dark orange or grey blotches.

Western brown snakes are terrestrial and mainly diurnal (active in the day) but can be active on warm nights. They prey upon small reptiles, mammals, other snakes, ground nesting birds and bird eggs and rear their fore-body into an S-shape when threatened, lifting their head off the ground and opening their mouth.

Western brown snake

Tiffany Hoy wrote in Australian Geographic, “Said to be less aggressive than its eastern cousin, the western brown snake is still highly dangerous and part of the group of snakes that causes the most fatalities in Australia. Western browns tend to be fast moving and nervous in temperament. When disturbed, they will run for cover, striking quickly if cornered, then making a quick getaway. Though their venom is not as toxic as the eastern brown’s, they deliver three times as much. Bites are usually painless and difficult to see due to the small fang marks. Victims will experience headache, nausea, abdominal pain, severe coagulopathy (blood clotting disorder) and sometimes kidney damage. [Source: Tiffany Hoy,Australian Geographic, July 25, 2012]

Western Brown Snake Bite Victims

In 1986, a western brown snake bit and killed 61-year-old female in Cervantes, Western Australia. She was bitten on her lower leg, walked a distance, and received no first aid.
In 1989, a western brown snake bit and killed a 33-year-old female in Carnarvon, Western Australia. She didn’t notice she was bitten. She received no first aid. The bite was discovered during an autopsy.
On February 24, 1993, a western brown snake bit and killed a 31-year-old male in Derby in Western Australia. The snake was in a bucket. The victim was found unconscious with head injuries assumed to have resulted in a fall after the bite. Antivenom was administered at Derby Hospital but there was no improvement. The patient was air-ambulanced to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital where he died. [Source: Wikipedia]

On December 1. 1997, a western brown snake bit and killed 33-year-old male Murray Plane at Tarmoola Gold Mine, north of Leonora, in Western Australia. The man was drunk and handed snake which he and his friends found in miners' quarters during the night. He was air-ambulanced to Royal Perth Hospital where he subsequently died on December 4.
On November 29, 1999, a western brown snake bit and killed a 35-year-old male in Broome, Western Australia. The man caught the snake on November 27 and was bitten while showing placing it in a bag after showing it. Received antivenom at hospital shortly after.

King brown snake

On January 15, 2009, a western brown snake bit and killed a 60-year-old female in Carnarvon, Western Australia.
On November 26, 2010, a western brown snake bit and killed 43-year-old male Michael Thorpe in Gingin, Western Australia. He was bitten on the toe by a 50-centimeter snake and died 2½ hours later after being transported to hospital and receiving antivenom.
On April 23, 2013, a western brown snake bit and killed 26-year-old Karl Berry in Darwin, Northern Territory.
On October 8, 2014, a western brown snake bit and killed a 41-year-old man in Laverton, Western Australia. He was bitten multiple times on the hand and arm while trying to grab and kill snake. He refused first aid and collapsed 45 minutes later.
On October 23, 2019, a western brown snake bit and killed 68-year-old Dale Steele in Northern Territory. A tourist from South Australia, he died while camping in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park. He sought help at the ranger's station, but lost consciousness and died.

King Brown Snakes

King brown snakes (Pseudechis australis) are also known as mulgas. They are found throughout Australia, except in Victoria, Tasmania and the most southern parts of Western Australia — and thus have the widest distribution of any Australian snake. The name "king brown" comes from its large size and brownish hue, However, king brown snakes are not brown snakes; they are members of the genus Pseudechis, made up of what are commonly known as black snakes. The other common name, mulga, is derived from their frequent presence in mulga habitats. Mulga is a small tree or shrub from the Acacia aneura, native to Australia. It is particularly widespread in arid and semi-arid regions. King browns are highly adaptable and can be found in grasslands, scrublands, woodlands and human-mpacted areas. [Source: Desiree Bowie, HowStuffWorks, January 25, 2024]

King brown snakes are among the larger snake species in Australia; they typically measure around 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) in length, with larger ones reaching nearly three meters (10 feet). Snakes in more arid regions tend to be larger than those in temperate areas. Their main prey are other reptiles and reptile eggs, which includes a range of lizards and other snakes — including their own species. They also eat small mammals, particularly rodents, and, occasionally, birds, bird eggs and frogs. King brown snakes primarily use a sit-and-wait or ambush hunting strategy, and kill prey using venom and constriction. They have been observed feeding both during the day and at night.

range of the king brown snake

The breeding season for the large king brown snake depends on where it lives. In southwestern Australia, mating typically occurs in early spring; in the Eyre Peninsula, it's observed in mid-spring. In northern populations, breeding might not follow a fixed seasonal pattern and could be influenced by environmental factors like the wet and post-wet seasons. During the mating season, males engage in ritual combat to establish dominance and win the right to mate with a female. This involves intertwining their bodies and attempting to push over their opponent. After a successful courtship, the female then mates with the dominant male. After mating, females lay 4 to 19 eggs, with larger females often laying more eggs, around 39 to 42 days after mating. The eggs incubate for about 70 to 100 days, depending on the temperature. In rare cases, two hatchlings might emerge from one egg. After hatching, the young snakes are independent and start fending for themselves. Their growth rate is rapid, and they mature into adults capable of reproduction within a few years.

King Brown Snake Venom and Bites

King brown snakes are the heaviest venomous snakes in Australia and have the largest-recorded venom production of any in the world — capable of delivering 150 milligrams in one bite; the average tiger snake only produces 10-40 milligrams when milked. [Source:Tiffany Hoy, Australian Geographic, July 25, 2012]

King brown snakes are generally not aggressive and avoids confrontation with humans. Tiffany Hoy wrote in Geographic: Their temperament seems to vary with locality. Southern mulgas are reported to be shy and quiet, whereas northern specimens are much more agitated if disturbed — when they throw their heads from side to side and hiss loudly. Mulgas bite savagely, even hanging on and chewing as they inject massive amounts of highly toxic venom, which destroys blood cells and affects the muscles and nerves. A black snake antivenom is needed to treat a bite.

While the venom of king brown snakes is highly toxic, it is less lethal than other Australian snakes, like the inland taipan or eastern brown snake. The venom of king brown snakes contains myotoxins, coagulants and neurotoxins. Among the symptoms that occur after a bite are pain, swelling, blood clotting disorders, muscle damage and even renal failure. Most bites occur when the snake is provoked or accidentally stepped on.

There have not been so many fatalities. King brown snakes accounted for four percent of identified snakebites in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with no deaths recorded. In 1969, a 20-year-old man was bitten while reaching around for a packet of cigarettes under his bed in Three Springs, Western Australia. The man was treated over two days, with twice daily injections of death adder, brown snake and tiger snake antivenin, yet died in 37 hours despite this medical attention. This incident led to the introduction of Papuan black snake antivenom for treatment of king brown snake envenomation. In 1977, Fred Duffy was bitten and killed by a king brown snake in Darwin, Northern Territory during snake exhibition.Another suspected fatality occurred in another in the early 1960s. [Source: Wikipedia]

King brown snakes have been recorded biting people while they were asleep. A significant number of victims have been snake handlers. In 1998, a person bitten 9–12 times on his arm required an amputation of the envenomed limb. He reported later that he had impulsively decided to commit suicide by placing his hand in a bag with a king brown snake inside and stirring it up.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, University of Melbourne

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org , National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, Australian Museum, David Attenborough books, Australia Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated August 2025