FEATURE - THE SNAKE WHISPERER

Summer means snakes. Whether you love them or not, there are times when snakes like being a bit too close to home and this is when we need our trusty local snake catcher, who can safely relocate them. One such snake saviour is ‘Snake Catcher Dan’, whose work takes him from the hinterland to the coast.

By Victoria McGuin

There are a few professional snake catchers on the Sunshine Coast, but the one who caught my eye a couple of years ago, through his openness, advocacy for snakes, and educational, compassionate posts is ‘Snake Catcher Dan’.

I’ve always been curious about what this dangerous job would be like, as it is so removed from anything I know, so I caught up with Dan Busstra to find out more about him and his life with snakes.

“I was born and raised here on the Sunshine Coast, and lived most of my life near the beach in Wurtulla and Aroona,” shares Dan. 

“My wife and I bought a little terrace house in Harmony to get into the market and were fortunate to upgrade to a bigger block on a family-friendly cul-de-sac in Coes Creek about five years ago.

“I've always dreamed of catching snakes for a living but never really explored the idea of making it a reality. I honestly thought it wasn't possible for me. 

“A few years ago I got a fire in my belly and decided to give it a crack. Why not?” Dan gives his trademark big smile, which you will see every time he posts video content on his social pages - his enthusiasm is palpable.

“I started up a Facebook page that was shared around by friends and family. It was slow to start then quickly picked up momentum. I just recently hit a huge milestone of 40,000 followers, which feels unreal.”

I can’t help but think his success comes from his transparency about who he is, his love for his family, his highs and lows in the job - people really connect with Dan and he feels like a friend. This is a rare and valuable gift in the world of social media, where you need to stand out and market your business. 

“My first paid job was for my next door neighbour. I didn’t want to charge them, but they insisted on supporting me, and then the phone just kept on ringing.

“There are definitely challenges, both physically and online. Being on call 24/7 is a tough one. My wife and I have to take two cars everywhere we go. I get very broken sleep at times with late night and early morning call-outs. Some days the phone does not stop ringing and I am just constantly driving from job to job. 

“Social media is very demanding of my time too. It's always me posting and replying to comments; responding to messages and texts identifying snakes and answering people's questions.”

If you visit some of the local community pages online, you will regularly see Dan responding to queries, or alleviating a concern, or offering to help, so this demand on his time is not surprising to hear. What’s also noticeable is when he is recommended by others, he always responds with gratitude.

“I know without the support of the community that I wouldn't be where I am today, so it's important to me that I offer that support back. With all the challenges I face, I still light up with every call. I get absolutely stoked that this is my life.”

I suspect every day is unpredictable in this job, and Dan confirms this.  

“There's no such thing as a typical day for me. I never know what to expect. Some days the phone barely rings, no jobs, and other days I wish I could clone myself with how busy I am, especially in summer when snakes are on the move, eggs are laid and babies are hatching.

“Some days I wake up with the family and other days I'm gone before they wake. Some days we have dinner together, and others Kate scrapes mine into a container to have on the road. 

“I always manage to fit in a walk with my Rottweiler, Buddy, and quality time with my beautiful family who are very supportive of my job, and proud of me.

“It definitely comes with challenges for them though. We might be about to head to the park or the pool and my phone rings and that's disappointing for them. 

“Kate is such an incredible wife though and soldiers on without me. She is why I am able to give my all to my passion. Knowing how amazing she is and how well she looks after us boys.”

In fact, it has been so busy lately that Dan has recently been fortunate enough to have some teammates help catch snakes with him. 

“This has allowed me to take some much-needed time off and spend that quality, uninterrupted time with my friends and family.”

The benefit of this job, despite the dangers and erratic hours, is that there are always special and funny moments, according to Dan.

“The amount of incredible people and animals I get to meet on the job is my favourite thing. Meeting donkeys, geese, goats, chickens, dogs... I've had customers insist I bring my family back to meet their animals. 

“We recently had an incredible experience meeting and riding a much-loved family horse. I have people give me eggs, honey, and mandarins. This community is so incredible and I'm so lucky to be invited into their homes each day and trusted with their safety.”

It’s clear that Dan’s love of snakes is fulfilling him in many ways, and he tells me of a very fond memory. 

“A stand-out special moment was when I was able to witness and photograph a mother python with her eggs that looked like bread rolls. The post was noticed by Australian Geographic. They wrote a story about my experience that featured online and in their hard copy magazine.”

I ask if Dan has a favourite snake?

“The Red-bellied Black snake, they are strikingly beautiful with their glossy black body and (usually) bright red belly. They have quite a shy and timid personality, but being highly venomous, I would absolutely be cautious of them, but as a professional they are such sweethearts and really enjoyable to handle.

“I always like to remind people, if you come across a snake the safest thing you can do is leave it alone. Snakes aren’t out to get us but will defend themselves if they feel threatened. All a snake wants to do is find a safe pathway to get away from you. 

“If the snake is outside and you don’t have pets/children, it’s safe to leave it and it will eventually move on. If you are worried about having it around or it’s in your house, call a professional snake catcher who will discuss your options and come and relocate if needed.”

Dan’s enthusiasm, openness, and obvious love of nature and wildlife reminds me of Steve Irwin; so it comes as no surprise that two of his favourite quotes come from Steve.

"‘We don't own the planet earth, we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildlife’, this is exactly how I feel,” smiles Dan.

And the second quote?

“‘All you have to do in life is be passionate and enthusiastic and you will have a wonderful life.’”

It seems Dan is doing just that, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.