Forget mythical drop bears or similar tales of dangerous Australian wildlife used to jest apprehensive foreigners - a slithery feast of cannibalistic proportions is sure to be enough to make even the most hardened of outback wranglers squirm.
Such a fascinating and morbid find was stumbled upon by Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary manager Nick Stock, who was on route checking the status of a second arson event in less than a fortnight.
Mr Stock, who had relocated to the 165,000 hectare Cape York property with his wife Holly and their two children in July, was walking along the banks of the Archer River when he spotted the distinct head of the Black-headed Python.
The python was mid-feast, having entangled itself around its unsuspecting prey.
As it continued to constrict, Mr Stock crept closer, and to his surprise, spotted a second snake-like head in the foray.
"It was a surprise at first, but I feel really fortunate to witness such an event," Mr Stock said.
"I have previously witnessed Black-headed Pythons eating an Eastern Brown Snake and a Yellow Spotted Monitor, however, this was the first time I witnessed a Black-headed Python eating another Black-headed Python.
"Fortunately for me but not-so-fortunately for the python being consumed, it took around 15 minutes from when I first witnessed the initial constriction to the python finishing its meal and returning to its burrow which was only about 10 feet away. This gave me plenty of time to get a camera and document the event."
It's a snake-eat-snake world for Black-headed Pythons, whose species are known to occasionally cannibalise their fellow slithery brethren in captivity.
AWC Wildlife Ecologist Dr Helena Stokes said witnessing and documenting a cannibalism event in the wild is a rarity.
"Although cannibalism has been witnessed in this species in captivity and has been reported in the wild, getting images or footage of such an event in the wild is quite unusual and lucky," said Dr Stokes.
"Black-headed Pythons prefer to eat reptiles over mammals and are known to eat larger reptiles including goannas, and even venomous snakes, so I'm not surprised that they would consume another python if the opportunity arose.
"By consuming other individuals, they are also reducing competition for resources in the area.
"I'm new to Far North Queensland, having moved here just a year ago, and was lucky enough to see my first Black-headed Python just a few weeks ago, at AWC's Mount Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary (Gugu Badhun country) in north-east Queensland."
