Python with super swollen belly snapped during QLD snake season
Images posted online of the immense belly of this very well-fed Australian python have prompted many social media users to ask, what on earth did it eat?
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
A python’s after dinner nap has been captured in a jaw-dropping photo posted on social media.
The image, posted by Queensland snake catcher Stuart McKenzie, showed the snake’s belly had swollen to become about three times its usual size as it digested its latest meal, prompting viewers to question what type of animal it had eaten.
One social media user said it reminded her of the festive season.
“How I feel at Christmas,” she said.
“That’s amazing. So cool,” said another user.
Mr McKenzie said it was at this point in the Sunshine Coast’s snake season that snakes were looking for larger meals so they could put on weight, explaining the snake had likely eaten a possum.
He said this season had been the busiest he had experienced so far in his 10 years working as a snake catcher.
Another snake business, Snake Rescue Sunny Coast, had also experienced a busy season.
Snake catcher Ryan Fuller said the heat meant snakes were more active and people were also intruding on snakes’ homes after more houses were built in bushland areas.
“The more we build out, for a time it does push them out into the bush but they do slowly creep back into populated areas because they want to eat the rats and mice,” he said.
Mr Fuller had even been called out to a 3m python that had eaten two chickens.
He said a python would take days to digest bigger feeds and it was important to leave them if they were digesting something big, or call out a snake catcher to move them.
“Depending on the food item, rats in particular, if you move them the wrong way the bones could injure the snake as they digest,” Mr Fuller said.
He and his business partner, Dimity Maxfield, even saved a baby possum this season.
Ms Maxfield said it was important to remember snakes were more scared of people than people were scared of them.
Mr McKenzie said people had been trying to catch snakes themselves, which was a big no-no.
“Do not try and catch snakes yourself,” Mr McKenzie said. “It’s against the law and it’s also really dangerous.”
He said those who owned feathered pets should enclose bird aviaries and chicken coups with the right kind of chicken wire including the top and bottom of the enclosure.
Residents should also regularly check the wire for breaks, often caused by goannas and foxes trying to get into it.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- intruding: getting in the way or going somewhere you’re not meant to be
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QUICK QUIZ
1. Which animal did the python with the swollen belly most likely eat?
2. Why is it especially dangerous to disturb snakes when they are digesting large animals?
3. In which state were the snakes in this story spotted?
4. Why has this year’s Sunshine Coast snake season been a busy one?
5. Why do snakes eat larger animals at this time of the year?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Create a menu
Create and design a menu for a restaurant. Your restaurant is for pythons. Remember to describe each dish in a way that will make pythons want to eat the food! Don’t forget to include a catchy name for your python restaurant.
Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Would you know what to do if you found a snake? Write a list of Safe Snake rules. Use your research skills to find out which snakes might be locals in your area and/or what to do if you do meet a snake.
Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?
Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.