Fauna Spotters logo

Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis)

The Mulga Snake is a large, widely distributed Australian elapid that occurs from monsoon forest and woodland to spinifex grassland, shrubland and desert. It may shelter in burrows, soil cracks, fallen timber, rocks and rock cavities, so clearing and ground disturbance can injure snakes and remove refuges. It is highly venomous and must be managed by trained personnel.

Conservation status

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Near threatened.

Breeding season

Mulga Snakes lay eggs. In southern Australia, mating is recorded mainly in early to mid spring, while northern breeding may follow the wet and post-wet seasons. Eggs, hatchlings and sheltering snakes can be affected by clearing at different times, so plan works around local records, rainfall and temperature.

Reproductive mode: Egg-laying, or oviparous.

Clutch size: 4 to 19 eggs, with an average of about 9. A broader reported range is 4 to 23 eggs.

Incubation: 70 to 100 days, depending on incubation temperature.

Size at hatching: About 22.6 to 24.8 cm snout to vent, or about 29 cm total length. Reported hatchling mass is about 9.4 to 9.5 g.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Disused animal burrows, and sheltered sites beneath logs or rocks. Other potential refuges include deep soil cracks and rock cavities.

Breeding frequency: Reported as 1 to 2 clutches per year, although this was not recorded in a scientific dataset on the source page.

Confirm the timing with local records and the fauna spotter catcher, because rainfall, wet and post-wet seasons, incubation temperature and local climate can shift breeding, activity and clearing risk across Australia.

  • Mating: In southern Australia, male combat and mating are recorded in early to mid spring, with the clearest records in September and October. Northern populations may breed during the wet and post-wet seasons or outside a fixed seasonal period.
  • Gravid females: Females carrying oviducal eggs have been recorded in mid summer, mid autumn and early spring, corresponding approximately to January, April and September. Females with yolking follicles have been recorded from mid winter to late spring, approximately July to November.
  • Egg laying: Egg laying is reported in summer, approximately December to February, and occurs about 39 to 42 days after mating. The timing may extend into October and November after spring mating in southern populations, and varies among localities.
  • Incubation: Eggs remain in nests or sheltered ground sites for 70 to 100 days. The incubation window may run from summer into autumn after summer laying, or from spring into summer after earlier laying.
  • Hatchlings: Hatchlings emerge about 70 to 100 days after laying, so emergence may occur from January to June depending on laying date and temperature. Hatchlings are independent when they emerge and are about 22.6 to 24.8 cm snout to vent.
  • Active period: Adults may be surface active throughout the year, with activity controlled mainly by temperature. Activity increases in warmer conditions, shifts towards late evening and early night in hot northern areas, and includes winter basking in some southern populations.
  • Winter inactivity: There is no documented species-wide brumation or hibernation period. Reduced activity and sheltering during cold conditions are most likely from June to August in colder southern areas, although snakes may emerge on warm days and some southern snakes bask in winter.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest in September and October, when spring mating and male combat are recorded, and remains elevated through summer where eggs are being laid or incubated and warm conditions increase surface activity. Shelter features such as burrows, soil cracks, logs and rocks may contain snakes or eggs at any time.

Identification

The Mulga Snake is a large, heavy-bodied snake with a broad, deep head and bulbous cheeks. Colour varies greatly between regions, so identification should use body form, scale characters, colour and a clear photograph where possible.

Adults are usually robust, while juveniles are more lightly built. The back, sides and tail commonly have two-toned scales, with darker tips or distal portions over a yellowish white to greenish yellow base, giving a reticulated appearance.

The dorsum may be brown, reddish brown, coppery brown, brownish black, olive-brown or nearly black. Northern arid individuals may have little dark pigment, while southern individuals can be almost black. The tail is usually darker than the body, the head is generally uniform in colour, and the belly is cream to salmon-coloured, often with scattered orange blotches.

Midbody scale rows: Usually 17

Ventrals: 185 to 225

Anal scale: Divided

Subcaudals: Single anteriorly and divided posteriorly, although occasionally all are single

Identification: Size and sex

The species generally averages around 2.0 m total length. The largest reliably measured specimen was 3.3 m long. Museum specimens show that adult males have significantly greater mean snout to vent lengths than females.

No body weight range is given in the supplied documents. Do not estimate weight from length in the field.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The main identification risks are dark brown snakes, Pseudonaja species, and other Pseudechis species, including the Spotted Mulga Snake, Pseudechis butleri. The Mulga Snake usually has 17 midbody scale rows, whereas some similar Pseudechis species have 19 or more. Scale characters should be checked only by an experienced handler or from a high-quality photograph.

A live Mulga Snake may inflate its body, hold its head and flattened neck in a broad curve, move the head from side to side and hiss loudly when threatened. If pressed, it may strike repeatedly and hold on. Do not approach or handle it.

The supplied documents do not describe reliable tracks, scats, calls, eyeshine or species-specific sloughs. A shed skin may confirm that a snake was present, but should not be used alone for species identification.

  • Treat any large brown, olive or black snake encountered during works as potentially venomous until identified by a competent person.
  • Use a clear photograph showing the whole animal, head shape, dorsal colour and, where safely possible, ventral colour for verification.

Distribution: States and territories

The Mulga Snake has the widest distribution of any Australian snake species. It occurs across most of mainland Australia, but the supplied documents do not provide a formal Australian bioregion list or population estimates.

The documented range includes the Northern Territory, Queensland except the southeast, New South Wales mainly in the northwest, South Australia except the south, Western Australia except the south, and the Australian Capital Territory. The species also occurs on Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia, Melville and Bathurst islands and Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory and Queensland listings, and Mornington Island and Prince of Wales Island in the southern Torres Strait.

The Australian Museum describes the range more generally as extending throughout Australia except the extreme south and general southeast. It also records the species from southeastern Irian Jaya and possibly western Papua New Guinea.

Australian distribution: Most of mainland Australia, excluding the extreme south and general southeast

Documented state and territory range: ACT, northwestern NSW, NT, most of Queensland, most of SA and most of WA

Bioregions: No formal IBRA bioregion names are provided in the supplied documents

Distribution: Strongholds and trends

No specific stronghold, density estimate, subpopulation estimate or Australian population size is given. The species is described as widespread and is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in the supplied material.

Northern populations are reported to be declining because Mulga Snakes ingest Cane Toads. The supplied project information also records a Northern Territory listing of Near Threatened, so state or territory requirements must be checked for the project area.

Population size: Not provided in the supplied documents

Documented trend: Decline reported in northern Australia, associated with Cane Toad ingestion

Conservation listings supplied: Not listed under the EPBC Act; Near Threatened in the Northern Territory

Habitat: Habitat types

Mulga Snakes use a very wide range of terrestrial habitats, from wet tropical vegetation to arid deserts. Habitat suitability is linked to prey availability and access to shelter, rather than to one vegetation community.

Recorded habitats include closed tropical monsoon forest, rainforest, woodland, wheat fields, Triodia hummock grassland, chenopod shrubland, arid mulga country, almost bare gibber and sandy desert.

The species may persist in highly disturbed areas, including agricultural land. This does not mean that clearing is harmless, because disturbance can remove shelter and expose snakes to vehicles, machinery and people.

  • Map and retain disused animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, rock crevices and rock cavities before clearing.
  • Inspect both vegetated and sparsely vegetated ground where prey and shelter occur, rather than restricting searches to dense cover.

Habitat: Structure and climate

The species is terrestrial and is active across a broad range of temperatures. Activity may occur during the day or night, with less activity around the middle of the day and between midnight and dawn. In hot northern areas, activity shifts towards late evening and the first hours after dusk.

Southern individuals have been observed basking in winter. The supplied documents do not give an elevation limit, a defined temperature limit or vegetation structure measurements.

Foraging habitat: Food and feeding sites

Mulga Snakes are opportunistic terrestrial predators. They forage across the ground in habitats that support reptiles, frogs, birds, mammals and eggs.

Recorded prey includes frogs, lizards, snakes, reptile eggs, birds, bird eggs and mammals. The species also occasionally takes invertebrates and carrion.

It may eat other snakes, including Western Brown Snakes, and is apparently unaffected by bites from its own species or at least one venomous snake prey. It is not immune to Cane Toad toxins.

  • Assess likely foraging habitat around ground cover, burrows, rock piles, fallen timber, drainage lines, grassland and woodland edges where vertebrate prey may occur.
  • Avoid assuming that a cleared or grazed site has no value, because the species is recorded from disturbed areas including wheat fields.

Foraging habitat: Foraging behaviour

The species is active during the day or night according to temperature and locality. Northern and desert populations tend towards nocturnal activity, while southern populations are more often diurnal.

No species-specific foraging distance, home range or prey density is provided. Survey and mitigation planning should therefore focus on connected habitat and shelter resources across the work area, rather than applying an unsupported fixed buffer.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Mulga Snakes are egg-laying elapids. Breeding timing varies across Australia, with spring breeding recorded in southern areas and breeding that may be aseasonal or linked to the wet and post-wet seasons in northern populations.

Male combat has been recorded in early to mid spring. Mating has been recorded in early spring in southwestern Australia and in mid spring on the Eyre Peninsula.

Females with yolking follicles have been recorded from mid winter to late spring. Females carrying oviducal eggs have been recorded in mid summer, mid autumn and early spring, indicating that timing varies among localities and records.

The supplied documents do not provide age at maturity or lifespan.

Breeding season: Early to mid spring in documented southern populations; northern breeding may be aseasonal or associated with the wet and post-wet seasons

Clutch size: 4 to 19 eggs, averaging about 9

Interval from mating to laying: 39 to 42 days

Incubation: 70 to 100 days, depending on temperature

Age at maturity: Not provided

Lifespan: Not provided

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

The documents do not identify a specialised nest site or provide nest dimensions. Breeding habitat is therefore expected to include areas where adults can find prey and secure, temperature-suitable ground refuges for eggs.

Potential features include disused burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, deep crevices and cavities in rocky outcrops. These features should be recorded before earthworks and protected where practicable.

  • Do not fill or collapse likely burrows, cracks or rock cavities without inspection and fauna management advice.
  • Schedule searches and clearing controls around the local breeding period where it is known, noting that timing differs between northern and southern populations.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

Mulga Snakes use ground-level refuges across both wet and dry habitats. These features are also the main places to inspect during clearing and active hand searching.

Recorded shelter sites include disused animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, deep crevices and rock cavities in outcrops.

Southern snakes may bask in winter, while snakes in colder areas may remain sheltered during cold periods and emerge on warm days. The supplied documents do not give refuge dimensions, burrow depths, den sizes or evidence of communal dens.

  • Inspect under large objects on the ground, around logs and rocks, and at the entrances to burrows and soil cracks before machinery enters.
  • Retain connected shelter features where possible and avoid placing spoil, pipes, pallets or other materials over known refuges.
  • Use a trained fauna spotter catcher for any live snake, and do not attempt to capture or relocate a Mulga Snake without the required authority and equipment.

Sheltering habitat: Survey conditions

Large snakes are difficult to trap. Active hand searching in likely shelter sites and searches during warmer weather are identified as suitable general approaches for large snakes.

Activity may be reduced during the middle of the day and from midnight to dawn. In northern and hot areas, searches may be more productive in the late evening or early hours after dusk, subject to site safety requirements.

  • Plan searches around warm conditions and likely shelter features, while applying a site-specific risk assessment for heat, darkness and venomous snakes.
  • Treat shelter inspection as a staged process during clearing, because snakes may remain concealed until ground disturbance begins.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main project risks are direct injury or death during clearing, loss of ground refuges, vehicle strikes and deliberate killing. Northern populations also face a non-project threat from Cane Toad ingestion.

Land clearing, agriculture and urban development remove snake habitat. Construction can destroy burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, rock refuges and outcrop cavities, and can kill snakes hidden under ground objects.

Snakes may be run over on roads. Construction traffic, haul roads and access tracks can increase this risk, particularly where connected habitat remains on both sides of a work area.

  • Complete pre-clearing searches of likely refuge features and retain or protect suitable shelter where project design allows.
  • Use low-speed vehicle controls, fauna spotter catcher coverage and a clear stop-work procedure for snake sightings.
  • Do not kill, handle or corner a snake. Keep workers back and use an appropriately authorised snake catcher.

Threats: Fire, predators and disturbance

The supplied documents identify more frequent bushfires, introduced predators such as foxes, dogs and cats, and indiscriminate killing as general threats to Australian snakes.

Fragmentation and loss of shelter can increase exposure to roads, people and predators. The documents do not provide a Mulga Snake-specific fire interval, fire response, predator rate or hydrology threshold.

Threats: Cane Toads and disease

Cane Toad ingestion is associated with declines in northern Mulga Snake populations because the species is not immune to Cane Toad toxins.

Known parasites include nematodes, and older specimens often carry many ticks. No project-relevant disease outbreak or hydrology-specific threat is described in the supplied documents.

  • Include Cane Toad risk in northern fauna management planning, especially where toads are present or may spread through disturbed corridors.
  • Do not move snakes, soil, logs or other refuge material between sites without considering hygiene and biosecurity requirements.

Threats: Worker safety

Mulga Snake venom is highly toxic and may cause haemolytic, cytotoxic, myotoxic and mildly neurotoxic effects. A bite is a medical emergency.

If a bite is suspected, apply the pressure immobilisation first aid procedure used for Australian snakebite and obtain emergency medical assistance immediately. Black Snake Antivenom is identified in the supplied material as the relevant antivenom for Pseudechis australis.

  • Maintain a site snakebite plan, suitable first aid equipment, reliable communications and a rapid route to medical care.
  • Never rely on the common name King Brown Snake to select antivenom, because this species belongs to the black snake genus Pseudechis.

Survey methodology: 1. Active searches and transects

Mulga Snakes occupy habitats from monsoon forest and woodland to hummock grassland, shrubland, rocky country and desert. They shelter in animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks and rock crevices, so surveys should combine active searches in warm conditions with careful inspection of these features.

Search likely shelter sites by day in warm weather, using walked transects through suitable habitat and checking under loose timber, rocks and other objects where this can be done safely.

Prioritise areas with disused animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, rock outcrops and crevices.

Large snakes are difficult to trap, so active searching should be the primary method where habitat disturbance is proposed.

Typical adult length: Around 2 metres, with a reliable maximum of 3.3 metres

Activity period: Crepuscular, diurnal or nocturnal, depending on temperature and locality

Known shelter sites: Animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, rock crevices and cavities

  • Record the transect route, search area, date, start and finish times, weather, ground conditions, observers and all shelter features inspected.
  • Do not place hands into burrows, cracks or crevices; inspect from outside and use a torch or other safe method where visibility permits.

Survey methodology: 2. Warm-weather and seasonal searches

Schedule searches when snakes are active in warmer weather, while allowing for local variation in activity between day and night.

In northern areas and during the hottest months, concentrate effort in the late evening and early hours after dusk because activity is reduced during the hottest part of the day.

In southern areas, include sunny winter periods because darker southern specimens have been observed basking in winter.

Northern and hot-weather activity: Often late evening and the early hours after dusk

Southern winter behaviour: Basking has been observed in winter

  • Use a day and night search design where the risk assessment indicates that the species may be active at different times under the local temperature regime.
  • Avoid treating a cool-weather negative result as evidence of absence, because snakes reduce activity in cold conditions.

Survey methodology: 3. Water and wet depression searches

Inspect residual ponds, drying stream beds and other retained water features where they occur within the project area, particularly during the warmer part of the year.

The available Australian reptile survey guidance reports that large snakes may be located in residual ponds in drying stream beds during November to February, and that walked transects through these habitats can be effective. Treat this as general guidance for large snakes and tailor the timing to local conditions.

General warm-season water search period in the guidance: November to February

Relevant survey approach: Walked transects through residual ponds and drying stream beds

  • Search the margins and surrounding shelter sites without entering unstable banks, deep water or dense cover where the observer cannot see the ground.
  • Record water presence, waterbody condition, bank shelter, nearby cracks, rocks and fallen timber.

Survey methodology: 4. Trapping, identification and records

Do not rely on pitfall or funnel trapping as the main method for this large snake, because large snakes are difficult to trap.

Confirm records with clear photographs where safe and practical, and have uncertain animals checked by an appropriately experienced herpetologist or state fauna authority.

Distinguish Mulga Snakes from dark brown snakes and other Pseudechis species using overall form, colour pattern, distribution and scale characters; the species has smooth dorsal scales in 17 midbody rows, 185 to 225 ventrals, a divided anal scale and subcaudals that are usually single anteriorly and divided posteriorly.

Midbody dorsal scale rows: 17

Ventral scales: 185 to 225

Typical colour pattern: Two-toned dorsal scales often produce a reticulated appearance; colour varies from pale brown or coppery brown to almost black

  • Treat every large unidentified elapid as potentially dangerous until it has been identified by a competent person.
  • Record the exact location, date, time, habitat, weather, behaviour, photograph reference and observer details for every detection and credible non-detection.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a survey design that covers all proposed clearing areas and nearby retained habitat containing burrows, cracks, logs, rocks, outcrops, drying water features or other likely shelter.
  • Set the number of transects, search hours, survey nights and repeat visits from the area, habitat, season, weather, project risk and current state or territory survey requirements; the supplied documents do not provide a Mulga Snake specific minimum effort.
  • Document survey limitations, including unsuitable temperatures, inaccessible shelter, poor visibility, flooding, fire or other conditions that reduce detection.
  • Submit confirmed records and suitable photographs to the relevant state or territory wildlife database, and provide records to the project environmental officer and relevant fauna authority where required.
  • Retain maps, effort tracks, observer qualifications, raw field sheets, photographs, specimen or tissue details where legally collected, and the outcome of any identification review.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan clearing around the species' use of ground shelter and its broad habitat range. The main pre-clearance risks are loss of burrows, cracks, logs, rocks and wet refuges, direct encounters with machinery, and killing or injury caused by fear or unsafe handling.

Retain disused animal burrows, deep soil cracks, fallen timber, large rocks, rock outcrops, crevices and suitable residual water features wherever practicable.

Retain connected strips of suitable ground habitat between cleared areas and retained vegetation so snakes can move away from disturbance.

Set site-specific exclusion buffers around occupied or high-risk shelter features through the fauna management plan and approvals process; the supplied documents do not prescribe a universal buffer distance.

Avoid unnecessary removal of bush rock, because rocks provide shelter for snakes and their removal is identified as a threat to snake populations.

  • Keep clearing footprints as narrow as practicable and avoid disturbing retained habitat during access, stockpiling and vehicle movements.
  • Locate compounds, access tracks, spoil and laydown areas away from known shelter features and wet depressions where practicable.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

Check the current EPBC Act status and all state or territory listings before works begin, then obtain any required permits for clearing, handling, relocation, salvage, rehabilitation or wildlife care.

Confirm the local requirements with the relevant state or territory wildlife authority because the supplied material identifies the Mulga Snake as a protected native animal in New South Wales and gives a Northern Territory state listing in the project brief.

Prepare a fauna management plan that sets out survey coverage, exclusion areas, stop-work triggers, handling authority, relocation criteria, emergency contacts, reporting and rehabilitation commitments.

  • Stage clearing so that pre-clearance searches, feature inspection and fauna management can occur immediately before each work front opens.
  • Schedule high-risk ground disturbance for periods that avoid known local peak activity where practicable, while recognising that Mulga Snakes can be active by day or night and may bask in winter in southern areas.
  • Brief all workers that the species is venomous and must not be approached, captured or killed by untrained personnel.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete a targeted pre-clearance survey of the work area and a practical inspection of adjacent retained habitat before machinery enters.

Mark retained burrows, deep cracks, logs, rocks, outcrops, crevices, residual ponds and drying stream beds on site plans and in the field.

Use exclusion fencing only where it can be installed without destroying the shelter features it is intended to protect and where the fauna specialist considers it suitable for the local terrain and work sequence.

Remove waste, loose construction materials and avoidable hazards from the work area before clearing, while leaving approved natural shelter features in place until they have been assessed.

  • Install signs and physical delineation around no-go areas and inspect them before each shift.
  • Keep a fauna spotter catcher with appropriate experience available for all high-risk clearing and ground disturbance involving identified habitat features.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Mulga Snakes can bite repeatedly, hold on and inject a large quantity of venom. Only authorised and suitably trained personnel should manage an encounter, and machinery must not continue when a snake or an unsafe shelter feature is in the work path.

Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes, stockpiles and work fronts at the start of every shift.

The fauna spotter catcher should inspect the immediate work area ahead of machinery, maintain communication with the operator and direct the operator to stop before a snake, burrow, crack, log, rock feature or wet refuge is disturbed.

Use slow, controlled clearing around retained features and keep workers outside the strike range of any snake unless the authorised handler has established a safe procedure.

Do not allow workers to kill, pin, chase, corner, capture or interfere with a Mulga Snake.

  • Stop the machine and make the area safe whenever the spotter catcher loses visual control of the work face or identifies an animal or occupied shelter feature.
  • Keep workers and members of the public away from the animal and nominate one person to communicate with the supervisor and fauna specialist.

During habitat disturbance: Handling, relocation and injury response

Only an authorised, appropriately trained fauna handler should decide whether a Mulga Snake can be captured or relocated.

Avoid handling unless it is necessary to prevent immediate harm or meet an approval condition, because the species can inflate its body, hiss, lash out and bite savagely.

If relocation is approved and safe, move the animal only to suitable nearby retained habitat with comparable shelter and away from active machinery, roads and the clearing edge.

Take an injured animal to a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer through the project emergency procedure, and do not attempt treatment on site.

Venom effects reported for the species: Mainly haemolytic, cytotoxic and myotoxic, with mild neurotoxic effects also reported

Antivenom noted in the supplied material: Black Snake Antivenom

  • If a bite is suspected, stop work, call emergency services and follow the site snakebite first aid procedure immediately; do not attempt to catch the snake for identification.
  • Use Black Snake Antivenom if antivenom is required, because the Mulga Snake is a Pseudechis black snake despite the common name King Brown Snake.
  • Record the animal's location before relocation and record the release location, habitat condition, handler, time and outcome.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature controls and stop work

Stop work if a Mulga Snake is found, if a suspected occupied burrow or crevice cannot be safely assessed, or if clearing would remove a marked shelter feature without fauna approval.

Stop work and reassess if machinery exposes dense cracks, deep cavities, large rocks, fallen timber or residual wet areas that were not covered by the pre-clearance plan.

Do not fill, crush, burn or remove a burrow, crack, log, rock feature or wet refuge until the fauna specialist has inspected it and the approval conditions have been met.

  • Record every detection, attempted detection, relocation, injury, mortality, stop-work event and breach of an exclusion area.
  • Report an injured or dead animal promptly to the project environmental officer and relevant authority where required.
  • Review the work method after each incident and update the fauna management plan before the affected activity resumes.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work should confirm that no animal remains trapped in the work area and that retained shelter and movement areas remain functional. Record outcomes separately for each work front so problems can be corrected before the next stage.

Inspect the cleared area, edges, retained habitat, exclusion fencing, open trenches, spoil piles and temporary water features for trapped or displaced snakes before the work front is released.

Check disturbed burrows, deep cracks, logs, rocks, outcrops and wet depressions for animals and make safe any open excavation or other entrapment risk.

Repeat checks after overnight periods, major weather changes or changes in the clearing footprint where the environmental officer considers that animals could have moved into the work area.

  • Do not release a work front until the fauna spotter catcher and environmental officer have signed the inspection record.
  • Remove temporary controls only after the risk of re-entry and entrapment has been assessed.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat and any relocation area for evidence that shelter features remain intact and that works have not isolated the area.

Compare records across work stages, including detections, non-detections, relocations, injuries, deaths, weather, effort and habitat condition.

Report incidents, confirmed records, permit compliance and rehabilitation outcomes to the relevant state or territory authority, project regulator and wildlife database where required.

  • Maintain the site fauna register and map all detections and management actions.
  • Investigate repeated records near a work edge or repeated animal entry into the work area, then adjust fencing, timing, access or staging before continuing.
  • Review any offset or residual impact requirement against the approval conditions and current conservation advice.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore shelter and movement habitat

Rehabilitation should restore ground shelter, connected native cover and seasonal refuge rather than only replacing canopy vegetation. Mulga Snakes use a wide range of Australian habitats, so the target should match the pre-clearing community and local soil, drainage and fire regime.

Reinstate locally sourced native vegetation that matches the structure and species composition of the surrounding habitat, including woodland, shrubland, grassland or other local community as appropriate.

Retain or reinstate suitable fallen timber, large rocks, rock piles and other approved ground refuges in stable locations that will not create a safety hazard.

Reopen or protect suitable natural drainage and wet refuges where they formed part of the pre-clearing habitat, without creating artificial entrapment hazards.

Maintain connected retained and rehabilitated areas so snakes can move between shelter sites without crossing unnecessary roads or active work areas.

  • Do not import rocks, logs, soil or mulch from sites that could introduce weeds, pathogens or unsuitable material.
  • Do not bury, burn or remove reinstated shelter features during follow-up maintenance unless the fauna management plan approves the action.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats after works

Control weeds so dense introduced growth does not replace native shelter and ground cover.

Manage introduced predators and domestic animal access where they are identified as project impacts, noting that foxes, dogs and cats are listed as threats to snakes generally.

Prepare a local fire management approach that protects retained logs, rocks, cracks and native ground cover while meeting the relevant fire authority and land manager requirements.

Prevent avoidable road mortality by controlling vehicle access, using site speed controls and retaining fauna controls until the work area is stable.

  • Inspect rehabilitated areas after fire, flood, heavy rain and major maintenance to identify exposed burrows, unstable rocks, erosion or loss of cover.
  • Repair erosion and reinstate damaged shelter features using approved materials and methods.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor rehabilitation during warm-weather activity periods and include day and night observations where the risk assessment supports both activity periods.

Use repeat walked searches of retained shelter features, rehabilitated ground habitat, drainage lines and drying water features, with effort and conditions recorded consistently.

Assess success by survival of locally native cover, retention of logs and rocks, stable burrows and cracks, functioning drainage, connected habitat and confirmed fauna use or other suitable evidence of occupancy.

Continue monitoring for the period required by the approval or rehabilitation plan and adapt weed, fire, erosion, predator and access controls when targets are not met.

  • Submit confirmed Mulga Snake records and suitable photographs to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Report monitoring methods, effort, results, incidents, corrective actions and outstanding risks in the project environmental report.

Sources