Kids shriek as 'ball' of snakes plummets from rocks at popular beach
An expert told Yahoo the sight is 'a relatively common phenomenon'.
A man has captured the moment a group of kids shrieked and ran away in fright after a pile of intertwined snakes suddenly fell from a bush at a popular beach.
The video clip shows what appears to be at least five tangled snakes suddenly drop down a rock face near stairs at Wattamolla Beach in the Sutherland Shire on Saturday. The sight bewildered beachgoers, who can be heard screaming as two of the reptiles hit the ground.
“Woah,” the man filming says. “There’s two of them!”
The remaining three clinging to the rock then slowly slither back up to the bush as one of the snakes now on the path takes a closer look at the man, before skulking to the corner of the bottom step — just metres away from children playing on the shore.
Aussie woman finds TWO enormous snakes 'snuggling' in her kitchen
Aussie beachgoers stunned as two 'thirsty' snakes fight it out
Aussie man 'lucky' to witness incredibly rare moment between snakes
Snake mating ball a 'relatively common phenomenon'
WIRES volunteer Gary Pattinson told Yahoo News Australia on Sunday what the beachgoers witnessed is “most likely a relatively common phenomenon, in the snake world, known as a mating ball — a situation where two or more males are trying to mate with a single female”.
Gary said the battle often goes on for hours “until the struggle is resolved”, and noted the snakes are most likely diamond pythons. “One can only sympathise with the poor female snake at the centre of such situations,” he added.
Aussies react to snake footage: 'Just another day'
The TikTok video has since gone viral, racking up close to one million views and thousands of comments in one day, some from Aussies who said the sight was “just another day”.
“Snakes everywhere…Wattamolla is in the Royal National Park. I’m amazed there aren’t more snakes seen there,” one person wrote.
“I’ve seen one there, for sure they are everywhere. I guess just mostly stay out of the way,” another added.
Others informed the man who captured the footage that the snakes were in fact “getting jiggy with it”. “Think you guys might wanna settle down this is a public space,” someone joked.
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
