Snake Tails presenter Bob Withey had students jumping out of their seats when he visited Cowra High School on Monday, March 23.
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With an interactive display of snakes, lizards and turtles, the show dispels some of the myths surrounding reptiles and teaches people about their role in our ecosystem.
Holding an eastern long-necked turtle, Mr Withey showed students its "external ribcage" and taught them the difference between a turtle and a tortoise.
"People believe if a turtle withdraws into its shell nothing can hurt it. Not true - turtle shells are not very strong because they have to swim with it. You could hit a tortoise with a car and it would just keep going because it's got a thick shell and short strong legs. You hit a turtle with your car and it's all over for him. But because tortoises have a big shell, they're also one of the slowest animals on the planet. That's why they're herbivores- plants can't run away. Turtles are carnivores though which is why they're quicker," Mr Withey said.
Also introduced to the students was a very friendly northern blue tongue lizard, one of five in Australia.
"You see his tube body with little pathetic legs? We are not looking at the body of an athlete. You could walk alongside a blue tongue going full throttle and say 'wow, you're fast'," Mr Withey said.
"I'd rather one of these in my backyard than a funnel web spider. Blue tongues are omnivores, they'll eat snails and spiders. They'll also eat your strawberries too so watch out if you've got those growing on the ground."
From behind glass, students got to see the deadliest snake in the world, the aptly-named Fierce Snake.
Their habitat is the south-western corner of Queensland and the top of South Australia and despite its name, it has never killed anybody.
There are two reasons for this, according to Mr Withey.
"The Fierce Snake hasn't killed anyone because the people out there know two things - they're deadly and there's no hospitals around - so they leave them alone," Mr Withey said.
"We're the only country where our poisonous snakes outnumber the harmless.
"Americans always talk about how dangerous their rattle snakes are but they wouldn't know a poisonous snake if they fell on it."
Did you know?
- The goanna got its name from the Australian slang for iguana. British settlers arriving in Australia mistook the species for their South American cousins.
- Tuatara, found only in New Zealand, are living fossils. They have hollow bones like birds and reproduce by spawning, just like amphibians.
- Australia has 18 of the top 20 deadliest snakes in the world.
