‘Taipan Territory.’
Phil Mangion embarks on a road trip to hunt for an iconic
species in a forbidding landscape.
I
t’s one of those animals that every field herper
dreams of seeing and every elapid keeper has on
their wish list. The world’s most venomous
snake; the Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus),
also known as the Fierce Snake.
The first time I consciously remember seeing a
‘Fiercy’ was when I watched my icon and role model
Steve Irwin go nose to nose with the snake in one of
his television programs. At ten years of age, I already
had a strong passion for reptiles, and I knew then and
there that I had to see a wild taipan – just like Steve.
I was 15 when I first saw a taipan in the flesh, at
Taronga Zoo in Sydney. The keeper had to separate a
trio on display in order to feed them individually. I
was in awe of how calmly and casually he hooked the
two snakes out. My career path was realised!
Fast-forward the clock ten years, and that same
teenager has now become a seasoned snake catcher,
and is working with his first Inland Taipan. The snake
is a massive specimen, well over the average metre-
and-a-half total length. I was told the old reptile was
approximately 15 years of age; he was a dull caramel
colour with prominent black markings.
I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time I
tailed that big old captive taipan at the Canberra
Reptile Sanctuary. All I had learnt about snake
catching was based on the Eastern Brown Snake
(Pseudonaja textilis), the second most venomous
snake in the world, which is common around my
home town in rural New South Wales and known for
being a real handful when it gets defensive. I knew
that the taipan I was getting ready to catch could blow
the brown snake out of the water in terms of venom
toxicity, yet I had heard stories from other snakies
about the placid nature of the oddly-titled Fierce
Snake, and I felt ready! I was going over the situation
in my head; I was nervous, a little sweaty, my knees
were a little weak and my arms a little heavy. I took a
deep breath, composed myself and prepared to hook
the snake’s tail out and around into position.
Suddenly, it bumped the hook out and spun around,
hissing defensively. It’s pretty safe to say I needed to
check my underwear after this initial encounter!
I’m now 30 years old and currently working at
Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, where I’m the manager
of the reptile department. We have over 70 different
species of Australian native reptiles on display, all
from the Northern Territory and Kimberley region of