Queensland’s most terrifying snake encounters of 2024
From a cold-blooded bed guest to cat-swallowing python, Queenslanders have been given a series of slithering surprises this year. Take a look at this list. PHOTOS, VIDEOS.
Sunshine Coast
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A terrifying video which emerged on social media this week of a snake striking at a camera in a Sunshine Coast backyard is just one of many close encounters captured and posted about it this year.
An Instagram Sunshine Coast community page uploaded the video on Friday, depicting a snake curled up on top of a backyard fence and hidden under foliage near a washing line.
The footage shows the snake turn towards the camera and flicking its tongue, causing the camera man to leap back.
It takes less than a second for the animal to then lunge forward at the camera, which spurred onlookers to scream.
A Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 spokesman said the snake likely struck due to the cameraman’s close proximity.
As the snake season in Queensland continues to ramp up, here are some of the most chilling encounters Queenslanders have experienced this year.
Brisbane
A southwest Brisbane local was shocked to find a deadly snake slithering in their backyard as peak snake season neared.
The Forest Lake resident took to Facebook on October 2 to alert residents in the area after they found an eastern brown snake on their lawn.
“We’ve just had a massive eastern brown snake travel through our backyard in the Creekwood Estate (Gilberton Crescent) in the last half-hour,” the person wrote.
The poster continued on to warn residents to check their yards before letting their pets or children out to play.
Months earlier, a Brisbane couple were greeted by a python wrapped around their Dyson vacuum during a cold snap on July 15.
A video taken by a woman and uploaded to Reddit shows her stoic partner carefully lifting the appliance to carry their cold-blooded visitor outside.
Briefly pausing to make sure the camera catches its best side, the man then gently places the vacuum outside, allowing the snake to slither to freedom.
Reddit viewers were delighted by the uniquely Aussie vibes with one user labelling it “the most Brisbane video” they had ever seen.
In a stomach-churning turn of events, a Brisbane woman found a venomous snake coiled around her senior cat’s neck.
In a Facebook post to the Snake Identification Australia group, Anstead resident Rebecca Daynes detailed the moment she found the eastern brown snake strangling her cat.
“We found (a) snake tightly coiled around our cat’s neck. (The snake) is injured but still alive,” Ms Daynes explained.
“I did remove the snake myself which, in hindsight is probably the most stupid thing I could have done but adrenaline took over and I didn’t know what else to do. I’m very grateful I didn’t get bitten either.”
Sunshine Coast
A highly venomous snake was found sprawled across the desk of a Sunshine Coast business as snake season kicked off in September.
Experienced snake catcher Stuart McKenzie, of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 said his business received a call-out to a red-bellied black snake that was found across a desk of the Bridgestone service centre at Marcoola.
Business owner Kai Faichney told The Courier-Mail it is not something you see every day.
“We just went to use the front computer and then we just noticed it sitting on top of the phone and the laptop,” he said
“It was wrapped up around the phone trying to make some calls and tried to punch a few numbers into the EFTPOS machine as well.”
Early into 2024, an eye-catching image of a python digesting what is believed to be a large possum had cooked up a storm on social media.
Mr McKenzie said it was at this point in the season that snakes were looking for larger meals so they could put on weight.
The picture of the python with a belly full of food had attracted much attention after it was posted by Mr McKenzie’s business.
One commenter said it reminded her of the festive season.
“How I feel at Christmas,” she said.
In the midst of winter this year, a Sunshine Coast family had a slithering surprise waiting in one of their sandals after a highly venomous snake had a sunbathing session by their front door.
Daniel Busstra from Snake Catcher Dan was called to remove a red-bellied black snake from a Burnside home on Sunday, June 30.
Mr Busstra said the snake had been sunbathing by their front door and quickly retreated to their pile of shoes when it was spotted by the family.
Being “very shy creatures,” it is very likely for a snake or other critters to hide away in a pile of shoes left outside, he said.
Another red-bellied black snake had slithered its way into a children’s toy basket of a Sunshine Coast family in May.
Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 posted the video of the snake being removed from children’s toy box.
“HUGE Red belly in Kids Toy Basket,” they posted with the video.
“Highly venomous snake within the kids toys, not a situation you want to be in – that’s for sure.”
In a less-savoury turn, Mr McKenzie posted a picture of a coastal carpet python releasing a “monster stool.”
“What goes in must come out,” he posted with the photo.
Needless to say, the post quickly went viral in less than an hour.
In another heroic moment, a Sunshine Coast mother saved their beloved family cat from the jaws of a snake in their backyard.
The incident in Buderim was captured on CCTV and shows a woman in a small backyard when a carpet python is seen slithering slowly towards an unaware cat.
The woman attempts to get the pet to move by getting its attention calmly before the snake bites into its prey and the cat bolts inside the house, with the snake still latched on.
Mr McKenzie posted the video to Facebook and said it was one of the “most insane videos” you’ll ever see and “send shivers down your spine”.
He said the woman managed to separate the two animals and called his team while the python hid behind a barbecue outside.
Townsville
Tragically not every family pet survived terrifying snake encounters this year, with a Townsville woman finding a scrub python digesting a large meal by her laundry door.
Elise LeHewitt’s laundry door posted online seeking advice.
Ms LeHewitt said she had “very small children”.
“I think that’s my cat inside,” she said.
Toowoomba
It was a story ripped straight from an outback horror movie – a young woman is in bed when a brown snake slithers between the sheets and bites her.
Panic sets in and help is hundreds of kilometres away as the snake’s venom courses through her body.
When this happened to Kasey Leadbitter while she was working as a nanny in Glenmorgan in January, she knew what to do in those vital first moments which ultimately saved her life.
Lay still, breathe, remain calm, apply a pressure bandage and call triple-0.
Since the incident, the Brisbane woman has been on a mission to prepare other Queenslanders for unexpected danger by signing up as the LifeFlight inaugural First Moments Matter spokeswoman.
Lockyer Valley
In a striking twist of events, a Lockyer Valley snake catcher went from hunter to hunted when he was bitten twice by an eastern brown snake in April.
Fortunately for Chris Jennings the sneaky snake didn’t release any venom when it struck him on his right hand and finger during a call out in the region.
The bites were a first for Mr Jennings, having spent more than 20 years catching and rehoming snakes.
“He was in a bit of an awkward spot to get to and when I went to grab him he struck me on the finger and then hand,” he said
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Originally published as Queensland’s most terrifying snake encounters of 2024
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