We — Suzanne, Maya and I– scattered Kalani’s ashes around his favourite spot in the Waitpinga bushland this morning. It was around 6.30am and cool so we were able to avoid the very active and extremely venomous Eastern Brown snakes.
The eastern brown (Pseudonaja textilis) is responsible for the most snakebite fatalities in Australia, due to its potent venom causing paralysis and severe blood clotting issues (coagulopathy), leading to rapid collapse without prompt antivenom and medical care.
Kalani died 2 weeks ago from being poisoned after eating a dead fish contaminated with the toxic micro alga bloom . It happened whilst we were on an early morning poodlewalk along the local Esplanade beach at Victor Harbor. His symptoms included nausea, vomiting, and disturbances to balance, coordination and vision.
He started vomiting a few hours latter, and though we were able to get him to the vet that morning, he died in the early afternoon. It was all so sudden. We suspect that the kind of poison killed him so quickly was caused by the brevertoxins (BTX) in Karenia cristata that bloomed from the marine heating and high nutrient levels in the coastal waters.