SYDNEY, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A man who tried to protect his pet dog from a brown snake died soon after being bitten by the highly venomous reptile in Australia's New South Wales state, local media reported on Friday.

The snake bit the 24-year-old victim on the finger in the backyard of his home in northwestern Tamworth on Wednesday night, the ABC News channel reported.

"He went to investigate his small dog barking and found the dog to have a small brown snake in his mouth," police sergeant Josh McKenzie was quoted as saying.

The snake bit the victim after he tried to separate his dog from it, said McKenzie. A relative took the man to a hospital in the city but he died within an hour.

The native Australian brown snake is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. About 300 people are bitten by snakes in the country each year and 35 people died from the bites between 2000 and 2016, the news channel reported.

Most snakes were scared of people and the reptiles would generally bite only if they were being threatened, Dan Rumsey from Sydney's Australian Reptile Park was quoted as saying.

The snake venom travels through victims' lymphatic system and they need to put pressure on the wound, he said.

"Most people are bitten on the hands or ankles," Rumsey said.

"As ridiculous as it sounds, you need to stay calm. That will slow down the circulation, getting to hospital as quick as you possibly can."