We were walking the dog a kilometer from home and ran into this one. It is a Red-bellied black snake about 1.5 meters long, a highly venomous snake from the east coast of Australia. According to the books it is 22% as venomous as the Indian Cobra. (To put this in perspective Australia's most venomous snake, and the worlds most venomous terrestial snake known, is the Fierce snake or as it is also known the Inland taipan, and it is 50 (fifty) times as venomous as the Indian Cobra.) It is the end of winter down here and it was sunning itself next to the track. The flattened neck is a warning it is not happy and will strike if the dog gets any closer.