Venomous snake spotted metres from Sydney Harbour Bridge

Commuters have been left stunned by a ‘bizarre’ sight only metres from an internationally famous tourist hotspot.

A highly venomous snake has made a surprise appearance among lunchtime crowds after attempting to leave its hiding spot at Sydney’s cruise terminal.

The native snake was spotted by an eagle-eyed pedestrian while attempting to manoeuvre out of a grate at The Rocks, next to Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In a video posted to Tik Tok, the snake can be seen flicking its tongue and darting in and out of the grate in a wall as people walk past.

While some were alarmed by the strange sight in Sydney’s CBD, many found the encounter funny with the woman who posted it joking “snakes need lunch breaks too”.

“He was eyeing up the cruise ship to slither onto,” she went on say.

Another user joked: “he is just ssssssight sssssseeing”.

A snake has been spotted metres from Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: TikTok/ella_sian66

While venomous, red-bellied black names are not linked to any deaths. Picture: TikTok/ella_sian66

Others expressed concern at the snake being so close to the city, with one user stating “this is incredibly sad … It must have been terrified in such an urban area”.

Australian Reptile Park operations manager Brandon Gifford told The Daily Telegraph the encounter in the it's CBD was “bizarre”.

He described hot and humid conditions on Tuesday in Sydney as being a “perfect storm’ for snakes, even in inner-Sydney.

“Urban environments are great for red-bellied blacks, eastern browns and pythons because of the easy shelter and a lot of food,” he said.

Mr Gilford told the Sydney paper the snake, which while venomous had not been connected to any recorded deaths, and could have been relocating and got stuck, or looking to breed.

According to Wildlife Victoria, red-bellied black snakes are “not aggressive” and will usually retreat before attacking, though will hiss and rear up when threatened.