A picture taken of a monster python in a tree at Brandy Hill last year is making the rounds on social media again this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Active Tree Services posted the picture of the python with two crew members, taken in June 2017, to its Facebook page on Thursday with the caption “a huge python keeping our crew in Port Stephens entertained”.
Alex Segrott, an operational manager for Active Tree Services, said seeing the snake was a moment he will not forget, and one worth sharing on social media again.
“I’ve seen a few snakes before but nothing of that size,” he said. “It was pretty healthy. It’s definitely not something you see every day.”
A crew from Active Tree Services had been working along Brandy Hill Drive, trimming trees under powerlines, when workers spotted the huge python in a nearby tree.
They called Mr Segrott, who had been working further down the road, to come and have a look.
Mr Segrott said some of the snake enthusiasts on his team pegged the python as being about 12 feet in length.
He said aside from its size and girth, what was unusual about the python was that it was near houses.
“We come across them [snakes] from time to time, but usually they’re in the bush,” Mr Segrott said. “And they’re usually only up to six feet long.
“I haven’t seen one so big before and near residential houses.”
The snake became active when the Active Tree Services trucks got closer to it, and slithered to the ground.
The crew gave the snake space and worked throughout the day. By the time they left the site later that day, the snake had gone back up in the tree.
Mr Segrott said he had no idea where the snake came from, whether it had been a pet that escaped, or how it came to be in the tree but it was a work day the crew would not forget in a hurry.
The python is not the only large creature that has been spotted in the wilds of Port Stephens.
In January 2016 the Examiner reported on a number of people that stated they had seen a large black cat in the Medowie State Conservation Area. So large they believed it could have been a panther.
While there is no picture of the Medowie panther like there is the Brandy Hill python, there has been no further sightings of the snake reported making it just as illusive as the big cat.
Have you spotted the huge python? Let us know if you have. Email your details and any photos to portstephens@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
