A second highly venomous sea snake has been spotted slithering across an Auckland beach a little over a month after one was spotted in the city’s Viaduct Harbour.
The animal, which appears to be a yellow-lipped banded sea krait, was spotted by an Auckland woman who was walking along Takapuna Beach on Tuesday.
Afrika McNall was walking with friends’ kids when a young girl screamed, “snake!”
McNall told 1News that another beachgoer trapped the reptile in a dog waste bag with a stick after noting that it looked unwell; she then called the Department of Conservation (DOC) so that it couldn’t breed in New Zealand.
“I know that snakes are an invasive species in New Zealand, so we didn’t want it to spread across the country,” McNall said
She was on hold for a while and said she was shocked when DOC told her to set it free – as sea kraits are actually native to New Zealand, with sea currents and warming oceans bringing them to our shores.
“The whole group I was with were looking at me thinking, ‘what the heck?’ I couldn’t believe they wanted me to let this really venomous snake go. I didn’t think it was morally right,” she told 1News.
She said that DOC had told her that she was handling the situation wrong – McNall believes they misunderstood what she was doing.
“We put the snake in the bag because it looked very sick, so we had to move it to the shade – bear in mind that DOC told me it was one of the most venomous snakes in the world. They didn’t tell me that it was docile, so I was really worried about the public.
“There were lots of dogs and children on the beach, so I was worried about them.”
DOC confirmed the sighting to 1News, saying that they “advised the member of the public not to attempt to touch or handle the snake as it is highly venomous”.
McNall said she was also shocked to discover that it is illegal to trap the animals and was worried that she might be prosecuted.
“Though sea snakes and kraits are occasional visitors to New Zealand’s waters, they are considered a native species under the Wildlife Act 1953. This is because they arrive here naturally from time to time on ocean currents (rather than by human transportation),” DOC’s website says.
“It is, therefore, illegal to kill or harass a sea snake or possess one or any part of one without a permit.”
McNall told 1News the group decided to leave the snake on the beach as they were worried about it potentially moving on and getting into further trouble.
“We weren’t trying to harm or kill the animal,” McNall said. “We just wanted to make sure it survived, so somebody could come and keep it off the beach.”
DOC told 1News they do not intend to pursue prosecution.
This is the second sighting of a sea krait in Auckland, with another being spotted in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.
DOC says they are normally accidental visitors to New Zealand as the country is outside of their normal range around Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.
Sea kraits spend part of their time on land – unlike sea snakes, which explains why McNall’s sighting was on the beach.
Clinton Duffey, a Marine Technical Advisor at DOC, told 1News that while the kraits look scary, it is rare for them to bite humans.
“Sea snakes and kraits are highly venomous, but they are docile creatures. The teeth of a sea krait are at the very back of the mouth, and the mouth is small, so it is difficult for them to bite a person,” he said.
He still advised caution when handling them, saying that “overseas, it is uncommon that people are bitten; however, they have been bitten attempting to remove sea snakes from fishing nets. This is why we advise the public not to touch them”.
While there have been two sightings of the animals recently, DOC says they are incredibly rare. There have been five specimens of the species spotted in New Zealand since 1988.
“If the public encounter a sea snake, or any wildlife, they should not touch the animal both for their safety and the safety of the animal. They should call the DOC hotline (0800 DOC HOT) and give the animal plenty of space. If other people are in the area, advise them to keep well away from the animal and that DOC has been informed,” the DOC Operations manager for Auckland mainland Rebecca Rush told 1News.
