Darwin: NT News team seals doors amid double snake sighting

The Darwin-based news team is on the brink of working from home after two snakes were found slithering toward the newsroom in 24 hours.

The first snake to invade the office building of the NT News.

The NT News team descended into chaos after a two snakes were found slithering across the office floor within 24 hours.

On Tuesday afternoon, the team of reporters – including their editor – dropped everything when a snake was discovered in the building’s front reception area.

From a safe distance, the curious group speculated whether the situation was a prank, until the reptile slithered and hissed to the horror of a few cowards.

Within an hour, a handler from free service, Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife’s Snake Call Out, had secured the golden tree snake and the perplexed reporters returned to their duties.

Workers were at a loss as to how the uninvited guest had infiltrated the building and agreed the panic was a one-off novelty.

On Wednesday morning, however, a second serpent was sighted within the confines of the building, triggering widespread concern that a snake lair existed somewhere deep within the walls of the News Corp building.

The first snake was captured and taken from the premises.

A senior member of the team blocked the door sills with rolled up newspaper - editions of The Australian proved best due to their broadsheet size - while the editor reassured her staff, including a student on work experience, they were safe in the newsroom.

The second snake, believed to be a juvenile python, slithered through a crevice in the wall and out of sight.

Veteran catcher Rex Neindorf told the NT News when a snake was found indoors, isolation was the key.

“You really don’t want snakes inside a premise – when they’re outside they can escape and get away – that’s the issue,” he said.

“So if they’re inside, you want to make sure all your doors are sealed, check under the door to make sure it’s closed up and then call the catcher.”

Based in Alice Springs, Mr Neindorf’s snake season is coming to a close, however the catcher said Top End Territorians need to be mindful going into the dry.

“You’ve got king browns up there, you’ve got northern browns and death adders and even a spattering of coastal taipans,” he said.

“The thing is, snakes have fairly bad eyesight – their eyesight picks up movement and that’s why if you have a snake close to you it’s recommended to stay still.

“If you have a snake close to you and you panic, that’s when the snake may react.”

The NT News team is yet to locate the second snake.