Snake catcher shares ‘coolest photo’ of Aussie animal duo

A “truly amazing” photo of two “Aussie mates” basking side by side in the sun has shocked many after it was shared online by a popular snake catcher.

Stuart McKenzie of the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers posted the image of the “beautiful” large python with a full belly snuggling into a goanna to the company’s Facebook on Sunday, describing it as “still one of the coolest photos ever to come to have been sent to the company. us through our wonderful followers.”

The striking combination also surprised others and provoked hundreds of comments from Aussies in awe of the ‘odd couple’. “That’s great,” said one, while another joked: “They must have had a wild Saturday night!”.

“Both just raided the chicken coop thinking ‘yeah that’s what’s going on,’” someone else wrote.

While many people said the pair appeared to be friends, others claimed the “python is definitely considering the goanna for its next meal.” “Is it normal for a snake and a monitor lizard to hang out together?” another person pondered.

Pythons and goannas can coexist peacefully

It’s not common to see a “coastal carpet python and adult veteran monitor lizard basking side by side,” but peaceful interactions between snakes and lizards do occur, Australian Reptile Park Operations Manager Billy Collett told Yahoo in September, according to a woman named Saskia posted a series of photos of a python and a tree monitor – possibly the same pair – lying together on her veranda in Nimbin, northern NSW.

“I’ve seen two diamond pythons on the same roof as a lace monitor… and red bellies and long neck turtles. I think people would be surprised if this happened in the wild,” Billy said, adding that the chances of them eating each other are slim given their size.

‘That’s a decent size snake that the lace monitor can get to work on.’

Saskia told Yahoo last year that it was the second time she had seen the snake and monitor lizard come together at her home after coming out of hibernation. “They hung out together for about two weeks and even slept very close to each other,” she said of their first meeting in 2022.

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