A cannibalistic snake has been photographed devouring another of the same species alive.
Nick Stock, a sanctuary manager at nonprofit Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), had been carrying out some checks on a recent arson event when he came across the bizarre sight, the nonprofit reported.
The snakes were spotted on the banks of the Archer River, to the south of the sanctuary. The first thing he spotted was the head of the black-headed python—a species native to Australia, easily distinguished by its all black head.
One snake had itself wrapped around the other, and it was only when Stock got closer that he realized it was another python of the same species.
"It was a surprise at first, but I feel really fortunate to witness such an event," Stock said in a press release. "I have previously witnessed black-headed pythons eating an Eastern brown snake and a yellow spotted monitor, however, this was the first time I witnessed a black-headed python eating another black-headed python."
Stock captured a few photographs of the sight.
The photos show the black-headed python in the middle of swallowing the smaller snake, which appears to be very much still alive while it is being consumed.
"Fortunately for me but not-so-fortunately for the python being consumed, it took around 15 minutes from when I first witnessed the initial constriction to the python finishing its meal and returning to its burrow which was only about 10 feet away. This gave me plenty of time to get a camera and document the event," Stock said.
Black-headed pythons, like other python species, are non-venomous, and kill their prey by coiling around it to suffocate it, and then swallowing it whole.
Snake cannibalism is not unheard of. Many larger snakes may prey on smaller snake species. The same species of snake eating each other is less common, but again, has been reported in previous cases.
Capturing footage or photographs of the event, however, is very rare.
Helena Stokes, an AWC wildlife ecologist, said while it has been reported in captive environments, to see it in the wild requires a great deal of luck.
"Although cannibalism has been witnessed in this species in captivity and has been reported in the wild, getting images or footage of such an event in the wild is quite unusual and lucky," Stokes said in a press release.
"Black-headed pythons prefer to eat reptiles over mammals and are known to eat larger reptiles including goannas, and even venomous snakes, so I'm not surprised that they would consume another python if the opportunity arose. By consuming other individuals, they are also reducing competition for resources in the area."
Australia's snake season is just beginning. This is the time of year when the weather warms up, and as a result, the cold-blooded animals become more active.
Although snake sightings such as this are rare, they become more common during the summer months.
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about snakes? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
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