The black-headed python is found in the northern third of Australia, from east to west, including the Northern Territories, northern lattitudes of Queensland and the northern third of Western Australia.
A freshly minted sanctuary manager at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary happened upon a fairly rare sighting, a black-headed python (Aspidites melanocephalus) constricting and eating another black-headed python. Sanctuary Manager Nick Stock, who has been on the job all of three months was out in the field checking the status of a second arson event that occurred across the 165,000 hectare property when he happened upon the cannibalism event.
According to an Australian Wildlife Conservancy press release detailing the encounter, Stock was walking next to the Archer River when he spotted the black-headed python constricting a prey item. As he stealthily got closer to the snake, he realized that it was constricting another black-headed python.
The black-headed python consumed the snake in about 15 minutes. Photo by Nick Stock/AWC
“It was a surprise at first, but I feel really fortunate to witness such an event,” 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.”
While the black-headed python has been observed eating its own in captivity, a cannibalism event such as that witnessed by Stock apparently is a rare event.
“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. Helena Stokes, AWC Wildlife Ecologist.
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“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,” Dr. Stokes said. “By consuming other individuals, they are also reducing competition for resources in the area.”
The black-headed python is native to Australia and are found in the northern third of Australia, from east to west, including the Northern Territories, northern lattitudes of Queensland and the northern third of Western Australia. A beautiful snake, the black head is so name because their head looks as if it has been dipped in black ink, while the rest of the body is generally free of any black colorations. They grow to between five and 10 feet in length and can live 20 to 30 years. They are also widely captive bred.
