Snake Tails Presentation

On Wednesday, 1st August, all Year 7 students attended an in-school presentation by Bob Withey from Snake Tails.

The entertaining and informative session enabled students to understand adaptations of various Australian snakes, lizards and turtles. He dispelled myths about warts from frogs and explained that Red-Bellied Black Snakes have a unjustified reputation for causing fatalities. In actual fact, there has never been a death from a Red-Bellied Black Snake.

If we had more, they would help keep Brown Snake numbers under control as they eat them! They also saw a Fierce Snake which Bob explained could kill 11 elephants with one drop of its venom. The Fierce Snake is actually the most deadly snake in Australia. Another interesting fact shared was that the Tiger Snake has less poisonous venom when compared with the Brown and Black Snakes but it injects much more venom when it bites which means it still is a major contributor to snake fatalities.

The event was hands-on and the students were able to touch a python, pat a lizard and say hello to a turtle. It was linked to the unit they are doing regarding living things and ecosystems. Bob's in depth and first hand knowledge helped to engage students and increase their learning as they continue to discover the amazing natural world around them.

Jennifer Stephens | Science Teacher