A highly venomous snake has shocked the lunch crowd after emerging from a secret hiding place at a Sydney cruise terminal.
The red-bellied black snake was spotted on Tuesday by an eagle-eyed pedestrian trying to maneuver out of a grate at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay.
In a video on TikTok, the snake was seen flicking its forked tongue and darting in and out of the grille in a wall as people walked by.
While some viewers were alarmed by the surprising sight in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, others found the encounter amusing.
“Snakes need lunch breaks too,” wrote the woman who posted the images.
“He was looking at the cruise ship he was going to sneak onto.”
One viewer joked: ‘he’s just ssssssight sssssseeing’.
Others expressed concern about the snake being so close to the CBD.
“This is incredibly sad… It must have been terrified in such an urban area.”
Brandon Gifford, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park, told The Telegraph the encounter in the CBD was “bizarre”.
He described Tuesday’s hot and humid conditions in Sydney as a “perfect storm” for snakes.
“Urban environments are great for red-bellied blacks, oriental porpoises and pythons because of the easy shelter and abundance of food,” he said.
The red-bellied black snake (pictured) was spotted by a pedestrian on Tuesday as it tried to maneuver out of a grille at the Cruise Bar in Circular Quay
Mr Gifford suspected the snake was either moving and getting stuck, or looking to breed.
“It could be a male looking for a female to breed with, or a female wanting to give birth,” he said.
According to Wildlife Victoria, red-bellied black snakes are ‘not aggressive’ and will usually retreat before attacking, but will hiss and rear up if threatened.
Although the venom can cause significant illness, no deaths have been recorded from the bite.