It was last week that a homeowner in Sydney saw six snakes slithering into a compost heap in the garden. Through an internet search, he found out that red-bellied black snakes pile on top of each other before giving birth.
Snake catcher Cory Kerewaro says that his company was originally called to rescue a number of reptiles after one of them was reported to have bitten a dog on the property.
Initially, the company thought they would find four to five snakes, but more and more snakes were found.
On site, the colleague found 40 red-bellied black snakes – four of which gave birth to live young while being placed in a bag.
"101 Dalmatians? What about 102 red-bellies", writes snake catcher Kerewaro online.
Red-bellied black snakes are less venomous than other Australian species, but their bites are still toxic enough to cause severe pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Experts do not know why so many snakes were born in such a short time, but one theory is the unusually warm weather in Sydney.
