Shocking photos have captured the moment a huge python devoured an unlucky wallaby in Brisbane.
The python first suffocated the animal and then swallowed it whole down a drain behind a business in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum on Friday.
“It took me an hour to swallow it. It’s cool to see how they do it,” explained Nigel Anthony, who posted photos of the snake’s lunchtime snack on Facebook.
Brendan Dyer, a leading snake hunter in Brisbane, explained that a carpet python first attacks its prey with its sharp teeth, before swallowing it whole through the head.
Once the python has captured its prey, it wraps its body around it in several loops, then squeezes the animal until it suffocates or becomes immobilized.
Carpet pythons have extremely flexible jaws that allow them to swallow prey much larger than their heads, including animals such as wallabies, possums, dogs, and even cats.
After swallowing, the python will find a safe place to digest its meal. Digestion can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the size of the animal.
Mr Dyer warned that Queenslanders are more likely to encounter snakes once the breeding season begins.
Shocking photos capture the moment a huge python devoured an unfortunate wallaby in Brisbane
After the python swallows, it will find a safe place to digest its meal, which can take several days to weeks depending on the size of the prey.
“After three months of relative calm, the snake breeding season has started again. The season is starting up again and people are more at risk of encountering snakes,” he explains.
‘Once winter is over, the breeding season usually lasts from late July through September.’
He added that while carpet pythons are relatively harmless to humans and not venomous, it is still best to leave them alone.
“If you see a carpet python in the bushes, leave it alone, they are very harmless. I caught three today, and none of them tried to bite me. But if you find one on your property, it is best to call a snake catcher.”
He also warned that the warmer weather would bring out the deadly eastern brown snakes, which are responsible for most of the fatal snakebites in the country.
There are approximately 140 different species of snakes living in Australia, but 100 of them are venomous and only 12 species are fatal if bitten.
Snakes are not aggressive by nature and prefer to retreat. They only attack humans if they are attacked, provoked or captured.