Man captures shocking video of snake 'moving lizard down into its stomach'
A man has captured a fascinating display of mother nature after spotting a venomous snake in the middle of a meal on a coastal pathway.
Brett Butler had been out for coffee with his partner on Sunday and on their way home on the walkway between Mullaloo and Ocean Reef, in Perth’s north, they noticed the dugite devouring the lizard for lunch.
“Came across this very large danger noodle (1.4m dugite) enjoying a big skink on the walk home,” Mr Butler wrote online.
“Very cool.”
Mr Butler told Yahoo7 it is not unusual to see a snake or legless lizards on this path, but said this feasting reptile was an impressive sight.
“It was a very good experience, not something you’d see often,” Mr Butler said.
In the footage the lizard’s tail is protruding from the reptile’s mouth and as it swallows you can see the snake body wriggling.
“That’s the snake moving the lizard down into the stomach,” Mr Butler responded to a Facebook user.
Many Facebook users were impressed with the spectacle, labelling it “awesome” and “so cool”, with one saying it is “such an honour to see this.”
But plenty of others were not as impressed.
“They can stay in the bush whilst I run away screaming,” another said.
Mr Butler, who has handled snakes in the past but does not do it professionally, says he normally would not get in such close proximity to a dugite, acknowledging “one that size quite dangerous.”
But said when one is feasting like is “about the only time you’ll be able to get close to a snake.”
“If you’re smart about it and respectful they’ll do their thing,” he added.
According to the Australian Museum website dugites use both constriction and venom to subdue prey, and eat a range of vertebrate prey, such as birds, frogs, lizards, mammals and other snakes.
“They are known to be cannibalistic in the wild, and individuals can swallow snakes almost as large as themselves,” the Australian Museum website reads.
