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From Bears to Snakes: Building SnakeMap

| 2 min read

SnakeMap is a sister project to KumaMap, a bear incident tracker for Japan. The visual UI, data pipeline architecture, and code design are heavily inspired by KumaMap's implementation.

The Problem

Australia has some of the world's most venomous snakes. Each year, thousands of snake encounters occur across the country—from backyards in suburban Brisbane to hiking trails in the Blue Mountains.

Snake sighting data is scattered across local councils, wildlife services, and snake catchers. We want to centralize this information and make it easier to visualize.

What SnakeMap Does

  • Live Map — View snake sightings with clustering and state boundaries
  • Data Explorer — Analyze trends by time, location, and species danger level
  • Weekly Hot Spots — See the most active locations this week
  • Search — Find sightings by location or snake species

How It Works

SnakeMap currently sources data from iNaturalist, a community science platform where people share wildlife observations. We filter for Australian snake sightings, geocode locations, and display them on an interactive map.

We're planning to expand to additional data sources—including local councils, wildlife services, and snake catcher reports—to make the platform more comprehensive and reliable.

Built for Safety

This isn't about fear—it's about awareness. Knowing that Eastern Browns have been spotted near your weekend hiking destination helps you make informed decisions about outdoor activities.

© 2026 SnakeMap Australia

Inspired by Kumamap