Missing woman survives snake bite after falling in freezing wilderness

A wildlife photographer survived two weeks in the Australian wilderness after falling and being bitten by a venomous snake.

Lovisa ‘Kiki’ Sjoberg, 48, disappeared after venturing alone into the sparsely populated Snowy Mountains to track wild horses, known as ‘brumbies’.

Her grey SUV hire car had lain idle for days 280 miles south of Sydney, of New South Wales, leading the rental firm to alert police on October 21.

A helicopter and at least 30 officers and volunteers spent days scouring the high plains of Kosciuszko national park, where brumbies are known to gather.

Eventually, late on Sunday, a mountain ranger saw Lovisa lying on an isolated trail near the abandoned gold mining town of Kiandra, where temperatures have dropped to freezing at night.

Lovisa had injured herself in a fall before being bitten by a copperhead, a venomous snake whose bite can be fatal without medical help.

Superintendent Toby Lindsay said: ‘We held grave concerns for the missing woman and (are) very glad she’s been found safe and reasonably well.

‘She’s in fact very fortunate to be alive and we’re glad that she is. She obviously went through a tough time.’

Lovisa was also treated for a rolled ankle and dehydration, and remains in ‘reasonable condition’ at Cooma District Hospital.

A ‘capable hiker’, according to police, Lovisa is a regular visitor to the national park.

She’s built a reputation as a campaigner against a government scheme to reduce wild horse populations.

More than 5,539 brumbies have been culled since aerial shooting recommenced in the park late last year.

Lovisa has dedicated her time to documenting this slaughter. Her previous photographs chronicling ‘Black Summer’, the devastating bushfires in 2019 and 2020, were featured in a national photojournalism award.

Peter Cochran, a local horse trek operator who joined the search, said: ‘Kiki was a devout supporter of the brumby cause and photographed many of those horses which are now deceased, so it was no doubt an emotional drain on her.

This is partly why her rescue was the ‘best Sunday ever’ for Mal Bruce, a local who set up a Facebook page, followed by 1,000, to promote the search effort.