Shocking photos captured the moment a massive python devoured an unlucky wallaby in Brisbane.
The python first suffocated the animal before swallowing it whole in a drain behind a business in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum on Friday.
“It took them an hour to swallow it. It’s really cool to see how they do it,” said Nigel Anthony, who posted photos of the snake bite on Facebook at lunchtime.
Brendan Dyer, a prominent snake catcher in Brisbane, He explained that a carpet python first attacks its prey using its sharp teeth, before swallowing it whole from the head.
Once the python has captured its prey, it wraps its body around it in several loops and then squeezes it until it suffocates or becomes immobilized.
Carpet pythons have extremely flexible jaws that allow them to swallow prey much larger than their head, including animals such as wallabies, possums, dogs and even cats.
After swallowing, the python will look for a safe place to digest its food. Digestion can take 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 when the breeding season begins.
Shocking photos capture the moment a massive python devoured an unfortunate wallaby in Brisbane
After swallowing, the python will find a safe place to digest its food, which can take several days or weeks, depending on the size of the prey.
“After three months of relative calm, the snake breeding season is now getting back into full swing; things are getting back to normal and people are more likely to come across snakes,” he said.
‘With the end of winter, the breeding season usually extends from late July to September.’
He added that while carpet pythons are relatively harmless to humans and are not venomous, it is best to leave them alone.
“If you see a python in the woods, leave it alone, they are very harmless. I’ve caught three today and none of them tried to bite me. But if you find one on your property, it’s best to call a snake catcher.”
He also warned that warmer weather would drive deadly eastern brown snakes out of hiding, which are responsible for most snakebite deaths across the country.
There are around 140 different species of snakes living in Australia, but 100 of them are poisonous and only 12 species can kill you if they bite you.
Snakes are not aggressive by nature and prefer to retreat. The only time they attack people is when they themselves are attacked, provoked or captured.