Unseasonal visitor a deadly fellow - NZ Press Item

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: NEW ZEALAND HERALD (Auckland) 03 June 00 Unseasonal visitor a brown and yellow deadly fellow (Anne Beston) : A man walking his dog on Waiheke's Onetangi Beach thought the long thin brown thing on the sand was a stick, but when he bent down to pick it up, it moved. : The "stick" was a live 1m yellow- bellied sea snake, a native of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Island areas and commonly found off the northern coast of Australia. : Like all sea snakes, it is highly venomous. Just one-third of the amount of venom injected in any one bite can be fatal to humans, causing respiratory problems and muscular paralysis. : "It was really lovely, though, quite beautiful," said Laurie Pearson, who works at the Onetangi Store and who helped catch the snake. : Locals phoned the police, who in turn contacted Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Conservation Department staff. : The brown and yellow snake was taken to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World but died overnight. : DoC officer Peter Younger said it was unusual for the snake to be this far south, especially so late in the year. : "They like tropical climates. They can't survive in cold water." : He said the department's first concern was that children might have found the snake without knowing how dangerous it was. : "The likelihood of getting a bite from one of these things is not that great. There's no anti-venom vaccine in New Zealand. : "If people see them, they should get in touch with us." : About six sea snakes wash up on New Zealand's coast each year. In January one was found on Tai Tokerau Beach in Northland and they have been discovered at Piha. : The snake has a small mouth and flat tail, but the size of its mouth is misleading - it has a double-hinging arrangement which means its bite is quite large. :

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