Pythons eats a Cock-or-two
Up until now I haven’t givent the full account of the Python vs Cockatoo sagas, as I was under obligation to the media. Diane from Adventure before Dementia has had a slithery visitor recently and wanted to know where the story was. So here is possibly the longest python post in the world….
Tropical North Queensland is a hotbed of prolific wildlife activity. Both day and night we witnessed the most incredible scenes right in our backyard. My home backed onto Deep Creek (where a very old salty lived), and out front Dead Man’s Gully (I assumed someone met the salty, judging from the name of this creek). Lots of water, constant temp & humidity and remnant rainforest are the favoured habitat of wildlife around here. Humans are merely visitors in this landscape.
Our house was surrounded by fruiting rainforest trees which brought the cockatoos (cockies) by day and bats by night. Unfortunately Beak and Feather Disease is rampant amongst the older birds, resulting in the slow loss of flight capability. A pair of “dodgy” cockies visited my yard everyday, but one evening one of them could no longer launch itself into the air. It decided to spend the night in my bougainvillea, approximately 2metres above ground. Bad decision.
Around 8pm I heard an almighty screeching from the backyard. Running outside with a torch, I searched the yard until coiling movement in the bougainvillea caught my eye. As I approached, I knew that it was too late to try and save the poor cocky - it was literally breathing it’s last breath as it’s eyes slowly closed (above photo).
The python seemed unperturbed by my close presence, coiling tighter around the cocky’s body. I ran inside to grab the camera, and then spent the next 2 hours witnessing nature’s life cycle first hand.
During the killing process, the python kept his head well above the “action”, appearing at times to be almost disinterested in what the lower part of his body was doing. Once the cocky hung limp, he lowered himself under the bird and opened his jaws around the back of the cocky’s head. The snake’s whole body rippled with each convulsive bite - scales shimmering with that trademark purple sheen.
Having eventually succeeded in swallowing his prey, the scrubby was happy just to “sit a spell”, tongue flickering at me as I took his portrait shots. Eventually he headed off toward the fence and into the darkness of the bush.
The next few days saw the remaining cocky pine away for it’s mate, as it too lost it’s ability to fly. Eight days after the first attack, at around 9pm, I once again heard a piercing screeching from the backyard. I didn’t have to go outside to know what it meant. This time the cocky was very much still alive, looking me straight in the eye, squawking for dear life. I had only earlier that day removed a paralysis tick from this cocky’s head, and had rung the vet about him. I thought I’d try and save this one. I grabbed the hose and turned it full bore on the python.
If a python could say “pfffft”, then this guy would’ve. He didn’t care less about the water or my presence. Once again the snake appeared distinterested in the bird until it was dead. At least this again was a quick death.
This python was slighty smaller than the last visitor (2.5 m compared to the previous 3.5). Once again, coils cleverly aligned wings and feet into a neat tube-like shape, as the cocky was slowly consumed.
We had a few witnesses to these attacks, and the python didn’t give 2 figs. My son recorded the whole incident on a digital movie format (lasted for about 1 hour), the neighbours came over and took some snaps (one had a visiting American friend who was completely aghast at the ferocity of Aussie wildlife), and even the cat and dog watched on.
Now the bounganvillea is referred to as “The Tree of Death” by the neighbours. I only wish the scrubbies could “take care” of the massive bandicoot that digs up the garden every night!
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- My 15 minutes….
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Thank you Cindy. It still amazes me after seeing it so many times. I had no idea it happened again later with another snake and cockatoo. The photos are fabulous. Hope you don’t mind I’m going to do a new post and send my friends over to your blog. Can I put one photo up, acknowledging you of course.
aurghhhhhhh…. sound of kim dry wretching!!!!! had a camera up my nose and tickling my throat yesterday and the sight of those feathers in the mouth made me gag again!!!!
good to see the whole collection of photos though….
have a great weekend!
Hi guys,
Go right ahead Diane. I just ploughed through a few hundred photos of python with it’s gob full of cocky and all those memories came flooding back. The smells, the heat, the bazillion mozzie bites….
Kim? Hosky Kim? Why the camera up the nose? Now that would have been a photo! How are you?
Cockatoos must be tasty, or maybe just filling. Great photos, I really like the closeups of the python’s head.
Visiting from Diane’s blog.
Hi Cindy, I came over here from Diane’s post. And am I glad I did. These photos are amazing and the story is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
oh neat
it is really cool to see wild animals doing what they do best. shame about the cockatoos tho :/ how the snakes moved around with such full bellies after is a mystery
This is as amazing to me as it is disturbing! What an incredible set of pictures, poor birdie!
Hi I came over from Diane’s blog. The food chain is part of nature, but it is hard not to feel sorry fo those senior birds. Your photos are amazing!
Hi, I’m from Diane’s blog too. Your photos are amazing!!! Poor Cockies, they must have been sleeping to let that python come across them like that? I came out on my front doorstep once and saw a snake swallowing a frog. That’s about as near to anything like that I ever got. You certainly had a front row seat.
Hi everyone and thanks for your thoughts.
Yes, it is hard to see any animal suffering, but to live with the Beak and Feather disease for any length of time means slowing starving or dying of thirst. The pythons are simply weeding out the weak and dying. These infected birds also spread the disease to healthy birds, so it is best they are removed from the population.
Dosen’t make it any easier to witness though.
Great to see the extended version of the snake/cockie saga Cindy. And now Lizzie has some amazing shots over on her blog, python eating a hare. Some very talented wildlife photographers around, not to mention the wild wildlife!
Hey Cindy…what is going on here…are we witchey sisters???? lol last night under the boganvilla bush, a purple one I was crawling on my stomach and guess what…lol lol…
These are great shots….
Oh SNAP!!
Did you touch it? I couldn’t resist and they are very warm and soft. Off to have a look now.
Thanks Tazar and Lizzie!
Touch it, touch it, you have to be kidding….I took some great shots of it with its jaws wide open and it moved one inch towards me and I squirmed backwards on my stomach so they are a little blurry..lol..
Went through your shots again awesome….fantastic detail..
I was a little nervous as had crawled under the boganvilla and took the shots prone on my stomach, always thinking where the heck is Slytherin who is two and and half to three times the size of this python…your description is spot on the undulating of the body is quite, gothic and fascinating….I did think of turning on the movie aspect of the camera but was not sure of the lighting as had a torch in my teeth….
Do you think we could be called the Medusa girls…..!!
Snake Sirens!
Quite an education for me & my girls! They wanted to know where you live so they can make sure to NEVER go there. LOL I think you pictures are fabulous and should be in a magazine somewhere. Must be a beautiful place to live but I don’t think I would do much nature hiking…
Hi Margaret, I don’t think I could live there again!
We had a home in Cairns, FNQ - Far North Queensland. Very tropical with lush rainforest everywhere. Of course in rainforests you get plenty of pythons…..
This story with some photos appeared in newspapers and other media outlets all around the world at the time, plus in a reptile mag - my 15 minutes!