Hungry snake causes a stir in Mackay suburb

A woman was walking her dog when she noticed the plump belly of a well-fed snake in the grass

CHRISTINE Sowerby was walking her dog in Bucasia, enjoying the light rain and the cool weather, when she spotted a swollen belly protruding from the grass.

Getting closer she realised the slumbering creature was a snake, who had gorged itself on a big feed and was laying about in a food coma.

"I saw it and thought 'oh my god, it's huge' and whatever was in its belly would've been the size of a small dog, cat or large possum," she said.

At first, Ms Sowerby thought the snake might have been dead, as it lay motionless in the Saturday afternoon drizzle.

"No idea how big it was. It was very strangely curled up," she said.

"I first thought it was dead as it didn't move and actually smelled quite bad."

An hour later, Ms Sowerby and her partner went back to the spot at Michelle Crescent, finding the snake still lying in the shrubs in the same position.

"The next day around 2pm, I went and had another look and it was moving its head and in a better curled position," she said.

Ms Sowerby took a photo of the reptile and posted it on the Facebook group Snakes of the Mackay Region and a Bucasia Facebook group, to alert nearby homeowners about the potential danger to their pets.

That afternoon, the hungry snake had disappeared.

"Certainly got my adrenaline pumping, as I'd never seen one in wild habitat, let alone one that seemed so big."

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