If you spot a hefty python partially dangling from you neighbour's roof with a large percentage of a possum in its mouth, is it best practice to inform the homeowners? This was the dilemma faced by a non-resident living in Australia who recently uploaded two videos to Reddit of a possum-munching python devouring its prey on the roof of a suburban home in southeast Queensland. "Should I knock on my neighbour's door to let them know there's a giant snake on their roof?" the uploader quipped in the comments.

Warning: sensitive viewers may find this footage upsetting.

For many Australians, a sighting like this will probably receive little more than a nonchalant shrug. Carpet pythons are an adaptable species and have learned to live alongside humans turning up in all sorts of strange places. This is certainly not the first time one has been recorded enjoying an upside-down possum meal in residential Queensland – in 2020 a carpet python was spotted in a similar scenario by a team from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers.

In both that instance and the latest one, the snake's chosen prey was a common ringtail possum. These marsupials are also proficient urban adapters known to take up residence in the roofs of houses or sheds on occasion. They're often found in suburban gardens where they take advantage of an abundance of fruits and flowers, especially rosebuds. 

After watching and filming the python (and the magpie entourage that hovered nearby), the video uploader concluded in the comments that the snake was "living it’s best life up on [the] neighbour’s roof. Probably doesn’t need to eat for another month."

Header image: Golgarth