Deadly snake strikes at camera in Australia

A dramatic video has emerged of a highly poisonous snake striking at a camera in Australia.

The aggressive eastern brown snake repeatedly coils its body and lunges towards the filmer, hitting the lens with its fangs on several occasions before slithering away into the bush.

The rare footage was captured by an employee of a local pest management company in Newcastle, New South Wales in late January - who attached a GoPro camera to a three metre long pole.

“Most snakes, if you go near them, will avoid you, but eastern brown snakes are the second most venomous land snake in the world, and the most dangerous on the east cost of Australia,” the filmer, an employee of Native and Feral Pest Management, later wrote online.

“If an eastern brown wants to go where you are, they will just go, and if you get in their way they may strike at you.

“We followed the snake to ensure that it went back into a safe environment, and not back toward the road, or our vehicle (even though we were a long way down a bush track). These snakes go for cover and may slide underneath your vehicle.

“If you see a snake, you should never approach it, you should contact a licensed snake handler to catch it and release it out of harm’s way. We are professional snake handlers with many years experience, and we filmed this release for public education purposes, it shows what these beautiful creatures are capable of.

“The snake was not harmed, and we were in no way harassing the snake, we simply followed it upon release to ensure it went into a safe environment.”