A, um, venomous tiger snake all curled in ma Crimbo tree.

Snake Catcher Victoria

In one of the more unusual festive stories doing the rounds, news reaches us that an Australian woman was putting the finishing touches to her Christmas tree over the weekend when, nestled among the tinsel and baubles, she discovered a snake.

Professional snake catcher Barry Goldsmith (strong name) was called in to get a handle on the situation, at a house in Melbourne.

“It’s one of the more different ones, but we find them in all sorts of places,” he said, “Tiger snakes are very good climbers.”

With the warmer weather, snakes are more active, but people should leave them alone and not try to kill them, he said. “It’s dangerous, it’s illegal, and it’s cruel.”

Tiger snakes, which are common in southeastern and southwestern Australia, are highly venomous and can be very aggressive.

They can be yellow, orange-brown and jet black – good camouflage for a Christmas tree…