Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The island described as home to “only two people” and unusually large tiger snakes is Mount Chappell Island, also known as Hummocky, in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group. An ABC News report published on 9 January 2023 identified those residents as Pakana ranger Grahame Stonehouse and another ranger. That is a dated report, not a current census. The same account described tiger snakes that are consistently longer, heavier and larger-headed than snakes elsewhere, feeding on short-tailed shearwater chicks in their burrows.
Where is the island with two human residents?
Mount Chappell Island, also called Hummocky, lies in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group. The name matters because descriptions of a “mysterious snake island” can otherwise be mistaken for another Tasmanian island or for a fictional location. The island identification comes from an ABC News report published 9 January 2023.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
That report said two people were living on Mount Chappell Island at the time: Pakana ranger Grahame Stonehouse and another ranger. “Only two residents” should therefore be read as a snapshot from that report, not as a verified present-day population figure. No current census or later resident count is established in the available material.
| Question | What is established | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| What is the island called? | Mount Chappell Island, also known as Hummocky | Located in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group |
| Who were the reported residents? | Pakana ranger Grahame Stonehouse and another ranger | Reported by ABC News on 9 January 2023; not a current census |
| What snakes are discussed? | Tiger snakes | The account describes their size and feeding behavior, but gives no island-wide population count |
| What bird count is available? | 64,000 short-tailed shearwaters | Australian Government, 1986; a historical count, not a current estimate |
What makes Mount Chappell’s tiger snakes unusual?
Herpetologist Simon Fearn told ABC News that Mount Chappell Island’s tiger snakes are consistently longer and heavier than tiger snakes elsewhere and have larger heads. These are reported field observations, not the results of a published island-wide measurement survey supplied for this article. The wording indicates a recurring difference noticed by an experienced observer; it does not provide an average length, maximum weight, sample size or percentage difference.
#1 Best Overall
That distinction is important. A headline can turn “larger than snakes elsewhere” into the impression that every snake on the island is gigantic or that the population is exceptionally dense. The available account supports neither claim. It establishes a striking size comparison and an ecological setting, but not a count of snakes or a statistical description of the whole population.
“Snake-infested” is therefore a dramatic shorthand rather than a scientific measurement. There is no verified current figure for the number of tiger snakes on Mount Chappell Island, their density per hectare, their annual births or their total biomass.
What do the snakes eat?
Short-tailed shearwater chicks
The clearest reported prey relationship is between the tiger snakes and short-tailed shearwaters. ABC News described shearwater burrows as providing shelter for the snakes and as a source of food because the snakes eat the chicks. In practical terms, the burrows are both refuge and access point: a snake can use the underground structure for cover while reaching vulnerable young birds.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →This does not mean every burrow contains a snake or that chicks are the snakes’ only prey. It identifies a documented food interaction in the island account. The sources do not establish how often predation occurs, what proportion of a snake’s diet it represents, or whether adults, eggs or other animals are routinely taken.
The 64,000-bird figure
A federal government report recorded 64,000 short-tailed shearwaters on Mount Chappell Island in 1986. The correct way to present that figure is: 64,000 — Australian Government, 1986. It is a historical count, not a current population estimate. Bird numbers can change over time, and no newer island-specific total is established here.
The 1986 record helps explain why shearwaters are central to descriptions of the island’s ecology: a large historical colony would provide many burrows and many chicks during the breeding cycle. It cannot, by itself, show that the colony remains the same size, that snakes have increased, or that prey availability currently explains snake dimensions.
Why might the snakes be so large?
The sources support an observation, not a proven evolutionary explanation. Several mechanisms could be considered by a biologist, but none should be presented as demonstrated for Mount Chappell Island without a primary study.
Food availability is a plausible ecological factor
If snakes regularly encounter energy-rich prey in a dense burrow system, individuals that secure more food could have more opportunity to grow. The shearwater relationship makes that idea biologically plausible, but the available material does not measure prey intake, growth rates, body condition or survival. It also does not show that food abundance, rather than another factor, produced the reported size difference.
Rank #3
Burrows may provide shelter
Using shearwater burrows as shelter could affect how snakes avoid weather, predators or disturbance. That is an ecological observation, not proof that shelter causes larger bodies. No study supplied here compares burrow use, temperature, survival or growth between Mount Chappell snakes and mainland or other island populations.
Isolation is a hypothesis, not a conclusion
An island population may experience different environmental and genetic conditions from populations elsewhere. It would require sampling and genetic, demographic and environmental analysis to determine whether isolation contributes to the larger size and heads described by Fearn. The account does not establish an evolutionary mechanism.
The most accurate answer to “Why are they so big?” is therefore: their larger size and heads were reported by Simon Fearn, and the island’s shearwater-burrow ecology offers possible explanations, but the cause has not been demonstrated by the evidence cited here.
Do tiger snakes eat other wildlife?
A 2017 field-naturalist paper by Brad Hall and Simon Fearn documents tiger snake predation on a fairy penguin chick in southeast Tasmania. That paper is useful context for the species’ potential prey, but it is not evidence of a fairy penguin attack on Mount Chappell Island. Keeping those locations separate prevents a general Tasmanian observation from being misreported as an island-specific event.
For Mount Chappell itself, the supported prey statement is narrower: the ABC account describes tiger snakes eating short-tailed shearwater chicks and using their burrows. No complete diet inventory, prey-frequency study or current feeding survey is established in the cited material.
What is known, and what remains unknown?
| Topic | Supported information | Not established |
|---|---|---|
| Island identity | Mount Chappell Island, or Hummocky, in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group | No issue identified in the island’s name or location |
| Human residents | Two people were reported living there in the 9 January 2023 ABC News account | A current resident count |
| Tiger snake appearance | Reported as consistently longer, heavier and larger-headed than snakes elsewhere | Mean length, maximum size, sample size and population-wide statistics |
| Snake abundance | No current abundance figure supplied | Total population, density, annual births and trend |
| Shearwaters | 64,000 recorded in 1986 by the Australian Government | Current colony size or present-day trend |
| Predation | Short-tailed shearwater chicks were described as prey | How frequently predation occurs or its share of the diet |
| Visitor access | Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania regulates specified wildlife activities through permits | A general rule saying ordinary visitors may land, or a categorical statement that landing is prohibited |
Can people visit Mount Chappell Island?
The available information does not verify general visitor-landing rules for Mount Chappell Island. It is not accurate to describe the island as automatically open to casual tourism, and it is equally unsupported to declare it categorically closed on the basis of the material cited here.
Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania says permits are required for specified activities involving the taking or disturbing of protected wildlife. Its guidance covers most native vertebrates and animals on reserved land. That guidance concerns regulated wildlife activity; it does not, by itself, answer every question about an ordinary person approaching, landing on or walking across Mount Chappell Island.
Recommended Free Tools
If you are considering a visit
- Check current access information first. Confirm the land manager’s rules and any landing, anchoring or transport restrictions before planning a route.
- Ask whether your activity needs a permit. Wildlife photography, research, handling animals, entering burrows or otherwise disturbing protected wildlife may fall under regulated activities. Do not assume that “not collecting anything” makes every activity exempt.
- Do not enter or block shearwater burrows. Burrows are used by birds and, according to the island account, by snakes. Keep clear of entrances and avoid placing equipment where animals need to pass.
- Never handle a tiger snake or attempt to move it. Treat an encounter as a wildlife observation. Give the animal space and follow local safety guidance.
- Plan for limited assistance. The sources do not describe visitor services, medical facilities or communications on the island. Confirm practical emergency arrangements with the relevant authority rather than assuming mainland-style support.
These steps are precautions, not evidence that a particular landing is permitted or forbidden. Rules can change, so current official guidance should control any real trip.
Best Value
How to read the “two people and lots of snakes” headline
The headline combines three different kinds of information. The two-person figure comes from a dated human-interest report. The snakes’ unusual size comes from an expert’s reported observation. The bird number comes from a 1986 government record. They should not be treated as measurements made in the same year or as proof of current conditions.
That separation also resolves the most common reader questions:
- Where is the island? Mount Chappell Island, also called Hummocky, in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group.
- Are there really only two residents now? Two residents were reported on 9 January 2023; a current verified count is not established.
- Are the snakes unusually large? Simon Fearn’s account, reported by ABC News, says they are consistently longer and heavier and have larger heads than tiger snakes elsewhere.
- What do they eat? The island account specifically describes predation on short-tailed shearwater chicks in their burrows.
- How many shearwaters are there today? No current number is established here. The figure of 64,000 dates to the Australian Government’s 1986 record.
- Can anyone simply land there? General visitor access was not verified. Wildlife permits and land-management rules must be checked before any activity.
Why the island is scientifically interesting
Mount Chappell Island brings together an unusual set of observations: a small reported human presence, tiger snakes described as larger than those elsewhere, and a seabird-burrow system that supplies both shelter and prey. That combination makes the island a compelling case study in how predators and colonial seabirds can share the same physical habitat.
It is also a reminder of how quickly a vivid wildlife story can outrun its evidence. A historical bird count is not a current census. A ranger’s reported residence is not a permanent population register. A size comparison is not an evolutionary proof. Keeping those limits visible makes the story more useful, not less dramatic.
On the evidence available, the defensible conclusion is precise: Mount Chappell Island (Hummocky) is the Tasmanian island associated with the two-resident description and reports of unusually large tiger snakes. Their documented island prey is short-tailed shearwater chicks, while the reasons for their size, their current abundance and the island’s general visitor access remain unresolved.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Leave a Reply