Austin Stevens answers some common questions from his viewers.

(Thanks to Emma Weston, Ros Calder, Beccy Wilcher, Sophie Wilcher and Carolyn Townshend for their contributions.)

1. Are the scenes in your program real?

When you see me confronting a highly venomous snake, for example, or being charged by a desert elephant, or struggling with a 20 foot python, what you are seeing is real. The build up or ending to the scene may be dramatised, as we do not always know what is going to happen, and the cameras cannot run all the time. So, should I suddenly come across a snake, and I run forward and manage to catch it, I then demonstrate the snake on camera. Should the camera man not have caught the actual catching of the snake action in the beginning, once I have finished my piece to camera, I can then easily release the snake, and with the camera now focused and running, catch the snake again. In so doing, we provide the introduction to the scene that the audience would otherwise have missed. Of course music and well placed cuts and close-ups are strategically employed to make it all as exciting as possible.

2. How many times have you been bitten by a snake?

Most snake bites are harmless, meaning the snake is non venomous, or has a mild venom of little consequence to human beings. Most snakes however, have teeth, and so are able to inflict a bite and so of course, the bigger the snake the more serious the bite. A venomous snake bite is considered serious if anti-snake bite serum is needed to save a life. I have of course received many non-venomous snake bites, but only have needed to be treated with anti-snake bite serum 4 times throughout my 40 years of working with reptiles. Not too bad a record.

3. How many hours filming does it take to make a 1 hour film that goes to air?

How long it takes to film a one hour episode of my series often depends on how difficult the working terrain might be, and/or how elusive or available the animals we are searching for might be. But generally speaking, in terms of hours the cameras are running, we shoot between 40 and 50 hours of tape to complete a one hour episode. Once shot, this footage then takes about 8 to 10 weeks to edit and again as many weeks to prepare for final production. It is a lengthy and time and money consuming business, most of which the general public are seldom aware.

4. How many people are in the film crew?

My film crew consists of 6 people.  Two camera crew, one sound engineer, the director and production co-ordinator, and myself as action presenter. However, depending where we are and how much equipment might have to be transported, we often need the assistance of local drivers, porters and guides. These extra people may spend part of the time with us, or in some cases, assist us throughout the shoot.

5. Do you ever get scared around the snakes in dangerous situations?

Contrary to popular belief, I am not some sort of super invincible snakeman who ‘knows no fear’. I am just a retired herpetologist turned naturalist adventurer, and use my accumulative knowledge to handle a situation as I see best at the time. Highly venomous snakes are not something to take lightly, and no inexperienced person should be fooling with such an animal. I am indeed sometimes scared, especially when forced into some unexpected predicament. Snake bite poisoning is a very serious, potentially debilitating, and life threatening situation, and should be avoided at all costs. Venom from an adder like the puff adder, or the gaboon viper, for example, delivers the most excruciating agony I have ever experienced; like having your hand in a fire without being able to remove it, for days on end. (And in my situations, this just from shallow, single fang bites) And then follows the tissue damage which often leads to amputation. Yes indeed, I am often scared when working with highly venomous reptiles.

6. Are you the one who chooses the music to put over the top in the show?

The music for my shows is created and composed from scratch, and arranged for recording by a full orchestra. Specific music is composed for specific moods and scenes.

7. What was your most scary experience out of them all?

While filming in Australia, I was tumbled off a high rock formation by the skid of the hovering helicopter I was disembarking from, and fell into the rapids below. Being washed down the white water rapids was no problem, but when finally I was disgorged into the flat water below the rapids, I found myself sucked down into a whirlpool. Fully clothed and with shoes on, I felt my strength going fast as I was pulled down, and was about to succumb to drowning when suddenly, unexplainably, I was flung outward, and was able to reach the surrounding rocks. Exhausted, I clung to the rocks until recovering my breath enough to climb out. I remain since that time, terrified of drowning.

8. Do you carry antivenom for all the snakes when you’re filming?

When available, I try to carry anti-snake bite serum with me, especially when expected to be far from medical attention. Serum for specific snakes is not always available, but when possible, I get what I can for the particular region I am entering. I must admit, for most adventures, I have no serum with me.

9.  Is it possible to tell a venomous snake from a non-venomous snake?

There is no one specific that will tell you if a snake is venomous or not, short of actually catching the snake and exploring in it’s mouth for evidence of fangs. This is not generally advised, and anyway, most snakes seen in the wild quickly disappear into hiding. There are a few clues to consider. If a snake raises it’s head and spreads a hood, you can usually be certain such a snake will be venomous, possibly of the cobra species. If the snake is relatively short and thick, with a distinct head, broader than the neck, this may be a viper and so caution should be taken. Most snakes however are slender and cylindrical, venomous and non-venomous alike, and an inexperienced eye could not possibly know what species it is. One thing is certain, if any species of snake encountered is given right of way, it will prefer to escape rather than confront.

10. What is the most aggressive snake you have come across?

The most aggressive snake species I have ever come across during the filming of my series, is the lance-head viper. A huge specimen in Costa Rica did it’s level best to reach me with metre-long lunges, spear-headed by a wide open mouth housing extended 4 centimetre fangs, while a smaller specimen in Peru so persistently huffed and puffed and struck out at me that I just could not keep control of the reptile and was forced to keep my distance.

11. What is your favourite type of snake?

One of my most favourite species of snake belongs to the genus, Boiga. These are Asian and Austral-Asian snakes, which may vary from a basic brown colouration to a variety of mixed variable colours, like mottled red bands on paler scales (north western Australia) or a pitch black with bright yellow banded variety found in Asia. They have beautiful bulging eyes, and demonstrate aggressively when handled by expanding the throat, opening the mouth wide, and lunging out. They are back-fanged and basically considered harmless to humans, and they make great photography.

12. What country did you find had the most interesting snakes and animals/what is your favourite country?

Peru is one of my favourite countries. From the top of the Andes Mountains down through ancient valleys and old Inca Ruins, to the Amazon River itself, this country has it all. There is an abundance of wilderness and wildlife, a unique and friendly people steeped in a fascinating history. Peru is a country I can visit over and over again.

13. Which snake do you fear most?

The black mamba is the longest venomous snake in Africa, reaching 4 metres in length. It is a very agile and fast moving snake that will not hesitate to defend itself if the need should arise, and it carries the reptile world’s most fast acting neurotoxic venom. The effects from the bite of such a snake would be felt in the human body within minutes.
The black mamba remains the snake to fear most.

14. Where/When/How did you learn photography?

Like most things I have needed to do in my life, I have had to teach myself. From driving and fixing a car, or motorbike, to learning to write, or work a computer. I am from the ‘old school’ , from a time before the computer and Internet age. And it was no different with photography. Working with beautiful reptiles convinced me that their beauty should be photographed and recorded, and so I bought my first ‘instamatic’ camera. This soon proved to be insufficient, as I felt I needed to capture close-up views of these magnificent creatures. So I progressed to an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses, allowing me the advantage of macro work. Then came auto-focus, followed by the age of digital. Lighting became an issue, and the need to experiment with attached and detachable flash units. Then I bought my first 16mm movie camera, and all previously learned techniques went out the window, as I struggled to learn this new medium I wanted to pursue. And again I went through all this when acquiring my digital video camera which I needed to make my desert chameleon film. And so it went on. More cameras with more lenses, and more experience, and more time in the field. There is of course no end to the learning. Every time I am lucky enough to get another really great picture, or a good film sequence, it is a new learning.    

15. What is your favourite animal and why?

My favourite wild animal is the desert elephant of Namibia. Desert elephants are physically no different from inland elephants, they are the same species, but due to human activity reducing their home range, they have been forced to adapt to the desert environment. Surviving in such a harsh place is an incredible feat considering the amount of food and water an elephant must consume each day. Desert elephants must cover vast distances in search of water. Their waterholes can be a few days journey apart and in times of drought the elephants often find themselves having to dig for water. These animals can communicate with each other over long distances using sounds outside the range of human hearing, and in this way the herds can avoid converging on the same scarce resources. For desert elephants, every day presents a new battle for survival, and I admire their courage, and I love spending as much time as possible out in the desert with them.  

16. What are your views on humanity and the environment?

Each and every problem facing the planet today is either directly or indirectly due to overpopulation by the human species. Unless this situation is confronted, and rigorous measures put into place to reverse this situation, there will be no natural environment, and ultimately no human life as we know it.

17. If there is one thing you would want to do before you leave this planet, what would it be?

Clean it up!

18. Are you responsible for the titles and final production of each episode?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the final production of each episode, though many of my suggestions and ideas are often incorporated, the final word is that of the production company itself. And even though I  may sometimes disagree with decisions that are made, I am forced to abide by them as the production companies themselves are far more experienced in what invites better opportunities for distribution. For example, different countries view different versions of the films and different titles are given in various parts of the world. Shorter versions are usually viewed in countries where more advertising space is required, for example USA, where often an entire segment is removed for the placement of commercial advertising.