Photographs show stunning moment python swallows crocodile in Australia
Astounding images shot in Australia show an olive python — one of the country's largest snakes — devouring an entire crocodile in a muddy swamp.
GG Wildlife Rescue, a wildlife shelter based in Greenough in Western Australia, shared the photos, taken by kayaker Martin Muller, on its Facebook page earlier this month.
The pictures show the snake approaching the reptile in a marshland in Mount Isa before tightly wrapping around its victim.
The python can then be seen with its jaws open as it swallows the crocodile. Subsequent close-up images show the serpent with just the crocodile's ringed tail sticking out of its mouth.
As of Tuesday, the shelter's post has been liked over 13,000 times and has generated over 16,000 comments, many from awe-struck viewers.
"Oh my good gosh!" one person wrote. "How big is that snake??? How lucky to come across that, just amazing! Thanks for sharing."
"I never ever saw one snake while living in Mt Isa," another remarked. "Think I’d have died if I’d encountered anything half the size of this one."
The olive python normally preys on birds, mammals and reptiles by constricting them, according to the Perth Zoo. Adult snakes can eat mammals as big as rock wallabies, which can grow up to three-and-a-half feet tall. The python usually inhabits rocky areas and gorges near streams or rivers, the zoo further notes.
