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Clip description
Harry Butler puts his hand into a rocky crevice and brings out a brown tree snake, also called the territory tiger. While expertly handling the snake, he tells us that this creature is one of the fauna that has thrived since the damming of the river. The snake simply stays in his crevice while frogs and insects come to him over the water.
Curator’s notes
A beautifully shot and constructed sequence, still fascinating today. The lack of music helps convey the sense of really being out in the bush. Butler’s natural manner, wiping the sweat off as he speaks, helps with this impression.
This sequence is typical of the naturalist. He’s utterly at ease with the camera at the same time as he’s dealing with a snake or a baby crocodile or maybe a wallaby. It looks effortless but must have cost him a few bites along the way, especially when he reaches into a tree trunk or rock crevice.
