Melbourne: An Australian snake catcher was called to a rifle shooting range on the outskirts of the northern city of Brisbane on Wednesday to capture a huge red-bellied black snake, which he named “Chonk” for its healthy condition.
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The 1.8-metre (6-ft) -long male reptile was probably hunting for suitable mates as the breeding season began, snake catcher Bryce Lockett told Reuters, after it slithered out of a large creek system where fish and frogs would have kept it well-fed.
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It was common to find snakes during the breeding season as males travelled further to find a mate, though snakes of this size were rare, Lockett said.
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“Every now and again they pop up,” he added. “I named him ‘Chonk’ just because he was very fat and healthy.” Red-bellied black snakes, common in wetlands along Australia’s eastern coasts, are some of the most handsome but least venomous of its reptiles, with no recorded fatalities.
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They typically grow to about 1.5 m to 2 m (5 ft to 7 ft), according to the Australian Museum, which said the largest on record was 2.55 m (8.4 ft).
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