While it remains widespread (unlike related species), it is facing increased threat from the ongoing Australian cane toad invasion.

The common death adder has a broad flattened, triangular head and a thick body with bands of red, brown and black with a grey, cream or pink belly.

Thanks to its band stripes, the death adder is a master of camouflage, hiding beneath loose leaf litter and debris in woodland, shrubland and grassland.

When an animal approaches to investigate the movement, the death adder quickly strikes, injecting its venom and then waiting for the victim to die before eating it.

Death adders are not aggressive, yet their ambush hunting technique and reliance on camouflage rather than flight to avoid threats render them more dangerous than other elapids to humans who venture into bushland habitats.