Writhing mass of 102 venomous snakes found in mulch pile at Australia home. Take a look

Miami Herald

10-02-2025

When you live in Australia, possibly crossing paths with any matter of venomous creatures comes with the territory.
But one Sydney homeowner got more than they bargained for when they noticed a snake in their backyard.
Reptile Relocation Sydney was called to a house when the homeowners noticed a couple red-bellied black snakes slithering their way into their mulch pile, the group said in a Feb. 4 Facebook post.
It's common for females of the species to congregate this time of year to give birth, the group said, so the snake catchers suspected there would be multiple snakes inside the pile.
'Upon arrival, we expected to remove four redbellies that had been seen,' Reptile Relocation Sydney said. 'Dylan was the man for the job and got straight to work going through the mulch. Within a few minutes, we knew this was going to be unusual.'
The group said as they started to pull out snakes, there just seemed to be more and more snakes appearing in the pile, far more than they could have ever imagined.
'Long story short, we went for four adults and came out with 102 snakes in total — 97 newborn redbellies and five adults,' the group said.
Cory Kerewaro, owner of Reptile Relocation Sydney, told the Associated Press he had never seen a removal this large before. Previously, the largest similar job he'd heard of involved 30 non-venomous carpet pythons.
This was a completely different game.
'You can get a decent number like that when the babies are hatching,' Kerewaro told the outlet. 'But to have this many venomous snakes, no one's come across it.'
Kerewaro also said two of the adult snakes were even giving birth in the bag after they were captured while the snake catchers were still sifting through mulch, according to the AP.
Red-bellied black snakes, while dangerous, are one of the most commonly encountered snakes in Australia, according to the Australian Museum.
They average in size between 5 and 6.5 feet long and are typically found in moist habitats like swamps and lagoons but can also be found in forests, woodlands and grasslands. They are often found in drainage canals or thick grass clumps, according to the museum.
'Just seeing that amount in one group, it gives you a bit of the shudders,' the homeowner, David Stein, told the AP.
Red-bellied black snakes live throughout the eastern coast of Australia.
The snakes were found in Sydney, on Australia's southeastern coast.