The incredible moment a python hanging from a tree devoured a dove has been caught on camera.
The snake can be seen choking the bird in footage that was uploaded to Facebook on January 31.
‘We noticed the commotion in the bush just at the end of our front deck, and realised that the python was strangling a dove in order to then eat it,’ Mrs McCulkin told Storyful.
Queensland family discovers python eating bird outside their home
Mrs Joanne McCulkin heard a commotion in her backyard and discovered the python devouring the bird in a tree just metres away from her home
According to Mrs McCulkin the snake took almost an hour to finish the dove and said she was pleased the snake was ‘so busy trying to eat the dove that he wasn’t too bothered by me.’
‘My husband and I used to be outback tour guides and love wildlife, so this sort of thing fascinates us, though we have certainly never seen anything like this happen before in real life,’ she said.
The 2.2 metre snake constricts its prey and widens its jaws to devour the feathered animal
Facebook users were fascinated by the footage of the pythons lunchtime.
‘I sure am glad I don’t have to eat sh*t covered in fur and feathers’, one comment read, while another commented on the birds fluffy plumage.
‘That must get caught in the ole fangs’, they said.
Mrs McCulkin jokingly replied to this comment, ‘I’m sure he had a real tickle in his throat.’
The bite of a carpet python is not poisonous to humans but they are known to frequently prey on possums, birds, rodents and sometimes family pets.
Carpet pythons climb trees to be closer to the sun while they sleep, with many found hiding in roofs, pergolas and sheds during wet weather.
How do pythons hunt their prey?
Carpet pythons are medium sized pythons that can grow up to 3.6m in length
The average adult carpet python is 2.5m long and is the largest snake found in south-east Queensland
They typically eat a variety of birds and mammals, and very rarely hunt humans, however a bite to a human can leave deep puncture wounds
Pythons are constrictors, which means they kill their prey by suffocation, but will also use an ambush technique to seize the animal with their teeth
