This time snakes and lizards were our focus and the remarkably unfazed Alex got close enough to capture these lovely images of some pythons and a few very deadly serpents.

Mankind has been using dogs to protect livestock, dwellings and possessions for many thousands of years. Dogs are the first of our many domesticated species. Descended originally from Grey Wolves and selectively bred for around 16,000 years into the many breeds we know today ranging from the tiny Chihuahuas to the massive English Mastiff. It is amazing really that we have only just started to use them to protect native wildlife.

Maremma Sheepdogs originated in Italy and have been used for centuries to guard livestock. But they have also recently been used in more unusual conservation efforts with penguins. Alan "Swampy" Marsh who was using the dogs to protect his chickens had a cunning plan to help save some local penguins. Eventually he convinced the wildlife conservationists in charge to trial the dogs.

In 2006 Middle Island’s colony of little penguins were sent their new minders. Foxes had wreaked havoc on the island, reducing the 1,500-strong colony to single figures and after a small hiccup or two (the dog started herding the penguins back to their burrows), the introduction of Oddball, a Maremma super protector, saved the day. Oddball, who was later joined by other dogs, chased away the foxes and penguin numbers subsequently revived.

Maremma dogs are considered ideal for conservation work because they can bond to an array of other creatures while also viewing feral pests as mortal enemies. The dogs have formed friendships with sheep, goats, chickens and gannets in the past. In controlled experiments, sheep that heard dingo calls instinctively ran behind the dogs for protection.

The film industry liked the story so much they have now made a movie shot in Oz to be released soon, titled "Oddball".

I used to handle and train dogs amongst other creatures in the film business; working breeds like sheepdogs were often the most interesting and easy to work with. Compared to other dog breeds it’s like they have a PhD, so clever some of them they could almost read the script!

Compared to many snakes they are relatively short and stout bodied especially the well fed ones. Most will reach around 1.2 – 1.6m long but occasionally tigers of over 2 metres have been reported.

Tiger snakes mostly eat frogs. Given the opportunity they will also eat lizards, birds, small mammals and even fish. They are potentially very dangerous but not aggressive unless trodden on or fearful. May be feisty to catch but after their initial fear response they seem to calm down very quickly.

The threat display when one is alarmed starts with much neck flattening (to look larger) raising part of the body off the ground accompanied by mock strikes and loud hissing. Fortunately by this time most people will back off leaving them alone and call a trained snake catcher.

Tiger snakes are one of Australia’s most commonly seen snakes as their range is similar to ours, with populations in cities and towns around Australia. They are common in many Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney suburbs and are even as far north as Brisbane. They live mainly in the cooler south eastern and south western parts of the country particularly near rivers, swamps and wetlands.

Due to the fact they live in cooler areas they have adapted to bear live young. A female may produce between 20-30 live young; one reported record is of 109.