Startling vision of snakes in a tangle in Gregory Hills

STARTLING vision has been captured of two red-bellied black snakes entwined in a spring ritual on Rodeo Rd, in Gregory Hills.

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STARTLING vision has been captured of two male red belly black snakes in combat on Rodeo Rd, Gregory Hills.

Gregory Hills resident John Butcher captured the footage after witnessing the slithery brawl for more than 10 minutes.

“I was out the front of my yard enjoying a drink with my neighbour when I heard a kid screaming their head off,” he said.

“We didn’t think much of it until a guy came over five minutes later and told us to check it out.

“The two red belly snakes were just on the footpath wrestling for what I think would have be more than 20 minutes.

“We went to the path and they didn’t bother us, they just kept wriggling.”

Startling vision has been captured of two belly black snakes wrestling on Rodeo Rd, Gregory Hills. Picture: Supplied

Startling vision has been captured of two male red belly black snakes in combat on Rodeo Rd, Gregory Hills. Picture: Supplied

Mr Butcher said he shared the footage on social media to warn the community of snakes in the area.

“Where we saw the snake is near JumpZone which is popular with kids on the weekend,” he said.

“People walk their dogs and walk from the school bus there, so I thought we will just make the community aware.”

A juvenile Easten Brown snake sighted in Catherine Fields earlier this year. Picture: Cory Nerewaro.

The vision has been widely circulated on Facebook’s Gregory Hills Noticeboard.

Reptile Relocation Sydney owner Cory Kerewaro said fighting of two male snakes would be a common occurrence coming into their breeding season.

“Coming into breeding season there will be a lot of males searching for females, which leads the males going into combat with each other,” he said.

A red-bellied black snake spotted in Mt Annan.

Snake catcher Patrick Reeve, from Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services, with a red-bellied black snake.

“A lot of people mix it up with the old wives tale they were mating. This was typical male combat.

“If anyone does stumble across it, let them be and do their thing. Don’t approach the snakes as anything can happen.”

The sighting follows a warning from Mr Kerewaro of the rise in snake numbers in August.