Australia

Sydney Woman Survives Being Bitten by Eastern Brown Snake Trapped in Her Shoe

7:10 pm - December 23, 2025
Australia

A paramedic cut the heel loop to free the snake, but it died of heat exposure.A paramedic cut the heel loop to free the snake, but it died of heat exposure.

NARELLAN: A Sydney woman is lucky to be alive after a highly venomous eastern brown snake became entangled in the heel loop of her shoe, biting her multiple times during a freak encounter in the city’s south-west.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon while the woman was geocaching in a garden bed in Narellan. Feeling something on her leg, she jumped onto the road and shook her limb vigorously, only to realize a young adult eastern brown snake was attached to her footwear.

Snake catcher Cory Kerewaro from Reptile Relocation Sydney described the situation as “unlike anything” he had ever seen.

“The minute she realized it was a snake, she stayed still,” Kerewaro said. “It went to move off, went around the back of her shoe, put itself in that loop, and then wrapped around her ankle a few times, trying to get itself unstuck.”

With the snake physically tethered to her foot, the woman managed to call emergency services. When paramedics arrived, they immediately sought Kerewaro’s expertise to identify the reptile and manage the extraction.

The eastern brown snake became stuck in the heel loop of the woman’s shoe.

Kerewaro arrived to find the woman standing on bitumen that had reached scorching temperatures on a 36-degree day. The snake had been trapped on the hot road for over 30 minutes and was suffering from severe heat stress.

“Seeing it was heat-affected, I was relieved,” Kerewaro admitted. “I was able to pin it very quickly, undo her shoe, and she took her foot out and moved away.” A paramedic then cut the loop of the shoe to finally free the reptile.

Despite receiving multiple bites, the woman did not suffer fatal envenomation. She was transported to a nearby hospital for observation and has since been released. Unfortunately, the snake did not survive the extreme heat exposure.

Kerewaro praised the woman’s presence of mind, noting that her decision to remain perfectly still likely saved her life by slowing the spread of potential venom.