Luke Huntley has wrangled some monster snakes in his time but describes the biggest he’s caught as the “mother of all snakes”.
With years of experience up his sleeve, the Noosa snake catcher doesn’t get nervous anymore, but the sheer size of one of his catches was enough to get his blood pumping.
Mr Huntley recounts how he was called out to a property at Black Mountain in Cooroy to what he described as the most massive carpet python he has seen in his career.
“The owners called me up and said they had the mother of all pythons in their balcony rafters,” Mr Huntley said.
“I got out there, looked up and the girth of the thickest part if was the size of a thigh.
“It measured 3.3 metres long and was classic python colours… it was just huge.
“I’ve had some get close to that size over the years but that was the biggest I’ve seen.”
Surprisingly, Mr Huntley wasn’t scared of the female mini anaconda and unfortunately does not have the pictures of the snake.
“It was a gentle giant and calm,” he said.
“The owners of the property were hiding behind one of the doors watching me remove it.”
Mr Huntley explained how, when snakes get to a certain size handlers have to be a little more careful, because even though they are non-venomous they can cause some serious damage.
“I have been bitten by a 2.5 metre python before and that was very bloody,” he said.
“There was a lot of damage from that one.”
But the capture that really got Mr Huntley’s heart racing in his career was handling the biggest eastern brown snake he’s yet to see and catch.
Also known as the second most venomous land animal on the planet, the eastern brown snake’s venom is extremely potent and lethal.
“One single drop of venom can kill 16 healthy men,” he said
“Imagine how quickly that venom would take effect on a rat – their favourite meal .”
He recalled being called out to a dangerous job at Castaways Bch in Noosa when a six-and-a-half-foot male eastern brown found itself trapped in the back yard of a suburban property.
“It was a monster that one,” Mr Huntley said.
“It had the width of a coke can or a beer.
“A builder on the property saw it first, then it slithered over the young apprentice’s foot and the snake freaked out.
“Any snake is usually calm, but because this one got cornered and they were trying to get it out with a rake and it wasn’t working, it was really stressed.”
Mr Huntley has also encountered some monster brown snakes around the Mary Valley region.
“Out that way there are some massive snakes because it’s more secluded and they have more free rein.
“There was one around the same size as the Cooroy job on Elizabeth Street in Imbil that I won’t forget. It was a huge specimen.”
With snake season in full swing, Mr Huntley reminded anyone who encountered a snake to not panic, and have a plan.
“Give them space and don’t mess around with them,” he said.
“Move kids and pets out of the area, let them cruise away themselves or call a snake catcher like myself and I will do my best to remove it.
“Don’t live in fear, we live in such a beautiful place, we can share it with wildlife too.”
