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Description
I was talking to a friend visiting from Ireland and realised that visitors to Australia are no longer warned about some of the most dangerous creatures we have. I felt it was my public duty to write up some basic information for everyone's safety.

The Hoop Snake:
Easily identified by its yellow bands and the barbs on its belly, the Hoop Snake is a resident of central Australia and the Simpson desert though it is migratory and can travel great distances in a single day, it has been sighted infrequently on coastlines as well. Can range anywhere from 75cm to 150cm in length when fully grown, with the Sheila's being typically larger.

The most striking feature of this snake however is its mode of transport from which its name is derived, in the hot Australian desert temperatures often reach 40°C and have been know to climb all the way into the 50's heating the sand to the point of burning the snakes skin, especially on the thinner underbelly. To avoid this the snake will curl over and grasp its tail in its mouth partially swallowing the end, it then flexes its muscles pulling it into a rough ring shape or hoop. The point of this is that the snake can then roll down the hot dunes with minimal sustained contact with the burning sand, from the base it will then climb up the shaded side of the dune where the heat is less intense before rolling from the top again. Its tracks are easy to spot in the sand and resemble bike tire-marks, to avoid the snake itself simply climb uphill from the tracks.

Though long thought to be venomous the Hoop snake is actually a constrictor, preferring to squeeze the life from its prey, the barbs on its underbelly are designed to dig into the preys fur or flesh for greater grip. Its "hoop behaviour" is also used when hunting; the snake with build up speed as a hoop and use the added momentum to launch itself at its target, the impact stuns the prey and allows the snake to get a full grip with its body offering little chance to escape.
While not normally hunters of large prey it should be noted that Hoop snake attacks on children and domesticated animals have been well documented especially in drought times when food is scarcer. If attacked by a hoop snake stop, drop and roll is your best option, once the snake has attached itself do your best to roll away from the head, the barbs on the snake point towards the tail, rolling in this direction will pull the barbs loose and upset the snakes constriction. Rolling towards the head will unfortunately drive the barbs deeper and make it harder to dislodge. Also note that the snake must close their eyes when rolling so if you see one coming try to sidestep it or put a barrier between yourself and it.

Description
I was talking to a friend visiting from Ireland and realised that visitors to Australia are no longer warned about some of the most dangerous creatures we have. I felt it was my public duty to write up some basic information for everyone's safety.

The Hoop Snake:
Easily identified by its yellow bands and the barbs on its belly, the Hoop Snake is a resident of central Australia and the Simpson desert though it is migratory and can travel great distances in a single day, it has been sighted infrequently on coastlines as well. Can range anywhere from 75cm to 150cm in length when fully grown, with the Sheila's being typically larger.

The most striking feature of this snake however is its mode of transport from which its name is derived, in the hot Australian desert temperatures often reach 40°C and have been know to climb all the way into the 50's heating the sand to the point of burning the snakes skin, especially on the thinner underbelly. To avoid this the snake will curl over and grasp its tail in its mouth partially swallowing the end, it then flexes its muscles pulling it into a rough ring shape or hoop. The point of this is that the snake can then roll down the hot dunes with minimal sustained contact with the burning sand, from the base it will then climb up the shaded side of the dune where the heat is less intense before rolling from the top again. Its tracks are easy to spot in the sand and resemble bike tire-marks, to avoid the snake itself simply climb uphill from the tracks.

Though long thought to be venomous the Hoop snake is actually a constrictor, preferring to squeeze the life from its prey, the barbs on its underbelly are designed to dig into the preys fur or flesh for greater grip. Its "hoop behaviour" is also used when hunting; the snake with build up speed as a hoop and use the added momentum to launch itself at its target, the impact stuns the prey and allows the snake to get a full grip with its body offering little chance to escape.
While not normally hunters of large prey it should be noted that Hoop snake attacks on children and domesticated animals have been well documented especially in drought times when food is scarcer. If attacked by a hoop snake stop, drop and roll is your best option, once the snake has attached itself do your best to roll away from the head, the barbs on the snake point towards the tail, rolling in this direction will pull the barbs loose and upset the snakes constriction. Rolling towards the head will unfortunately drive the barbs deeper and make it harder to dislodge. Also note that the snake must close their eyes when rolling so if you see one coming try to sidestep it or put a barrier between yourself and it.