A father and son were shocked to come face-to-face with a venomous snake while on a toboggan ride this week.
Nick, 39, from New South Wales, Australia, was visiting Jamberoo Action Park in New South Wales with his 7-year-old son Alex.
Lucky enough to be the first ride of the day on the toboggan run, Nick and Alex headed down the track before they were promptly stopped in their tracks by a snake.
"It's a bit crazy," Nick told Newsweek. "We slowly went over it as we didn't really have anywhere else to go. I'm not sure if I hurt it or if I got past it unscathed."
The snake was a red-bellied black snake, one of the most frequently encountered snakes on the east coast of Australia.
A medium-sized snake with bright crimson scales that fade to a duller red in the middle of the belly, they commonly are found in streams, swamps and lagoons—but also inhabit forests, woodlands and grasslands.
The red-bellied black snake is venomous and is responsible for a number of bites every year, although they are a shy snake and only deliver serious bites when disturbed. Often, they will freeze to avoid detection when they notice humans.
Reactions to a bite can include bleeding and swelling at the bite site and symptoms including nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, sweating and muscle pain and weakness. Despite this, most bite victims only experience mild symptoms and deaths as a result of a red-bellied black snake bite are very rare.
The risk of serious complication from a bite is higher for children and pets, and anyone who suspects they have been bitten should seek medical attention quickly.
Despite the encounter, Nick kept a calm head. "I didn't want to scare my son so I did what I could to get past it quickly," he said. "Then I told the ride operators about it. They stopped anyone else from getting on the ride and relocated the snake."
Nick shared a picture of the encounter on Reddit after recording the toboggan run on a selfie stick. Users shared their reactions in the comments.
"Now that's an awesome shot for the family album," said one Redditor, while another wrote: "Omg it honestly looked fake at first glance."
Despite the unexpected snake on the track, Nick said that it will not put him off visiting the park and riding again in the future.
"We love Jamberoo," he said. "It's a lovely local park and we'll be back. I've been going there since I was a child and now I take my own children."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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