Snake eats kangaroo in Australia

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IANS Sydney
Last Updated : Feb 17 2016 | 3:28 PM IST

A 17-foot-long snake, believed to be an amethystine python, was seen at a caravan park in Australia devoutring a kangaroo.

The snake was seen unhinging its jaw to make room for the kangaroo in a video taken by a camper at a caravan park in Cooktown in far north Queensland state, which was uploaded on social media on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

"Just found this snake at the back of the caravan," Helen Smart, who filmed the video, said.

"And I'm whispering because you can see it's eating a kangaroo," she said in the video.

"Oh my God, it's so big, it's humongous!," she added. "Poor little kangaroo."

Over several minutes, the snake widened and distorted its body as it squeezed parts of the native marsupial's body through its mouth.

At one point in the video, all that can be seen was the Kangaroo's feet and tail, eventually being swallowed wholly.

"He's got a big fat belly," Smart can be heard saying again, alluding to the outline of the kangaroo's carcass visible inside the snake's stomach.

Amethystine pythons are Australia's largest snake with an average length of five metres, however the largest on record is eight metres in length, according to Queensland's Department of Environment.

Meanwhile, a snake catcher further south in the state capital Brisbane has filmed a venomous small-eyed snake eating another small-eyed snake, despite usually only feeding on skinks and lizard eggs.

"Snakes love eating other snakes because they're the easiest thing in the world to swallow," University of Queensland snake expert Bryan Fry said.

"It looks like a younger snake in this video, and the big one's gone 'yep, I'll have you'."

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First Published: Feb 17 2016 | 3:14 PM IST

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