Pilbara snake handler's video shows olive python eating whole pigeon
By Mietta Adams
ABC Pilbara
Topic:Animals
8m ago8 minutes agoMon 24 Mar 2025 at 12:19am
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In short:
An olive python has been filmed devouring a pigeon in WA.
The snake species is non-venomous and is recognised as vulnerable.
Snake experts say the Pilbara olive python can grow to up to five metres in length.
It's the time of year when volunteer snake catchers from Tom Price in Western Australia's north-west get called out to jobs almost daily.
One resident recently contacted local handler Juddy Cain with a peculiar situation.
"'Juddy, I've got this snake hanging off my roof. It's got one of the pigeons that I feed'," Mr Cain recalled.
By the time he arrived, Mr Cain said the wild pigeon was already dead and in the process of being gobbled up by a 1.5-metre non-venomous olive python.
Snake coils around a white bird from the roof of a futter
Pilbara olive pythons are widespread in the region. (Supplied: Juddy Cain)
"It was one of the most interesting snake catches I've done,"
he said.
"I thought it was pretty cool."
Nurjaney Williams, who lives at the home, said it was "surreal" and "pretty full on" to witness the pigeon being engulfed from start to finish.
"My five-year-old son was captivated. He wanted to take it home," she said.
Mr Cain and a handful of marvelling onlookers waited about an hour for the python to swallow the bird before it could be moved.
The skin around an olive python stretches with feathers of a bird inside it.
The bird was finally swallowed by the snake after an hour. (Supplied: Juddy Cain)
He explained snakes can't be moved while eating as they can regurgitate the food and be injured.
Mr Cain then moved the python to the outskirts of Tom Price.
Snake expert Brian Bush said olive pythons are widespread in the Pilbara and very common around Tom Price.
A man wearing holds a long four meter brown python snake by the tail in a backyard setting.
Snake expert Brian Bush kept a 4-metre Pilbara olive python for 20 years. (Supplied: Brian Bush)
He said they are often found near water and can ambush animals when they come for a drink.
"It's amazing when you see how skinny Pilbara olive pythons are and what they can actually ingest."
He said Pilbara olive pythons can grow to about 5 metres and, if they get to that size, they would have no "no trouble ingesting a four or five-year-old child".
But he said unless they are large, they're unlikely to be dangerous and are recognised as vulnerable under state and federal conservation legislation.
"The best thing you can do if it's in or around your house is to call in someone to manage it safely," he said.
Posted8m ago8 minutes agoMon 24 Mar 2025 at 12:19am
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