The awesome story of Anna the Python

As snake catchers, we are often blown away at peoples blatant disregard for wildlife, the environment and the rights of species other than ourselves. This is not a story about those people. This is about the right kind of people, those who in their very nature and attitude towards life make you feel like humanity might just make it out of the dark. And it’s about Anna the python.

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So recently, we attended a call for a python relocation. We were told that there was a python in a roof space (my least favourite job), discovered when lifting the tin roofing while installing a solar heating system. Upon arriving, we were met by our clients, the homeowners, who were doing the installation themselves. Sure enough, when one of the roof panels was lifted we could see a gorgeous coastal carpet python (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) who we gently removed from the roof space, avoiding the sharp roofing edges with help from the client.

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What happened next happens rarely, but when it does it’s magic.

“What do you do with the snake now?” they asked.
“Typically, we relocate to the closest suitable habitat we can find in the area,” we replied.
“Oh, OK,” they said, a bit downhearted. “Do you HAVE to relocate her?”
“No, no! By no means! The decision is entirely up to you.”
“Oh, good. Because we believe that’s Anna.”
“Anna?”
“Yes, she’s one of about two or three we have living around here, doing circuits of the fence line, eating our rats and mice.”

Turns out she’s a regular, one of the family basically. The only reason they needed her moved was so they didn’t injure her while drilling into the roof panels. Having a son in their late teens and no small pets running around, this python was no threat to anyone except small local fauna! After a couple of quick photos on the lawn, Anna the resident python was relocated to a big gum tree in their back yard, a total distance of about 10 meters, where she proceeded to climb up like she knew every branch from trunk to tip.

3255070_origThese are our favourite relocations. After all, the carpet python is a well adapted suburban animal, feeding on humanity’s rodent trail, living in our roofs and attics, storm drains, garden sheds, anywhere they can find shelter and food. And they’re essentially harmless to humans, aside from a painful bite and possible trouble for small children if dealing with a large individual. The kicker for me, however, is when people show a willingness to live with our native animals and accept that the Australian environment may contain the occasional snake. And that’s OK. Do you need that snake moved to do home improvements? Sure, if its in the way. Does it need to be driven 5 hours to a pristine national park, which is already occupied by its own population of snakes, and the things snakes eat, and may not necessarily have the carrying capacity to support a whole lot more snakes? I’d say no. The consequences for the genetic population structure of snakes due to long distance shuffling of individuals from one place to another is also unknown, but while not necessarily detrimental it probably would not lead to a more, lets say “natural” system than was present prior to such shuffling.

Essentially, while we do want to relocate snakes a safe distance from suburbia, dogs, roads, people, and, above all, gardening tools, I don’t feel we should deny them the opportunity to adapt to our semi-urbanized, densely human-populated landscapes, as long as we give them a healthy amount of respect and space. It’s a two-way street, one that many refuse to have with nature. They want one way traffic only, and they will miss much of life’s grandeur. We’re always extremely proud to see people agree to keep the snake that’s on their property. After all, it’s probably been there for years, unseen, keeping your house relatively possum and rat free, with only the occasional bump in the night, out of sight, out of mind. All house guest should be so considerate.

Here’s a few more shots of Anna on the lawn before she climbed away. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Janne
www.snakeoutbrisbane.com.au

Your SnakeOut Brisbane.