Python feasts on huge possum in suburban backyard
WARNING – DISTURBING CONTENT: A Brisbane snake catcher has shared incredible footage of the moment a hungry carpet python made a feast on a huge possum in a suburban backyard.
Janne Torkkola was called out to remove the snake from a Forest Lake property and arrived to find it mid-way through eating a large mother brushtail possum.
Video of the late-night feast shared to Facebook on Friday showed the reptile gobbling up the native animal.
As he waited for the snake to finish its meal before relocating it, Mr Torkkola commented in the video saying the snake “won’t need to eat for quite some time after this”.
The owner of Snake Out Brisbane Snake Catchers added that the mother brushtail had dropped a pouch-young joey before it was eaten. He commended the resident for collecting the little creature and keeping it safe for transfer to an animal emergency service where it will receive care from wildlife vets.
Mt Torkkola told Yahoo7 News possums make up a large part of carpet pythons’ diets, so it was fairly common to see them being preyed on throughout the year.
However he added: “In summer and spring, possums are more active and on the move more. In the warmer seasons there’s going to be more activity.”
Carpet pythons and possums have adapted well to Brisbane’s suburban environment, the snake and wildlife expert added.
“Carpet pythons are mostly rodent predators, but as they get bigger they tend to eat possums and fruit bats.”
Saving joey possums while mother is preyed upon
As seen in the Forest Lakes callout, if a mother possum is carrying a joey in its pouch while threatened, it is capable of ejecting the young from its pouch. It can also fall out while the mum is trying to run away.
“When it does happen we do our best to get the young joeys to a vet to get help from a wildlife carer,” Mr Torkkola added.
Pythons ‘essential’ for balancing Australian ecosystems
While they can be confronting, large predators like pythons are essential for keeping possums and other mammal populations in check.
“Even our venomous snakes are important for keeping rodent populations down,” Mr Torkkola said.
“Here in Queensland we have high rates of rodent-borne diseases like leptospirosis, so the snakes in our suburbs are actually very important for our health and that of the local ecosystem.”
