Almost stepping on a Diamond Python
Diamond Python curled up sunning itself beside a trail
Canon EOS R5 Mk II with a Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Zoom [ISO 320, 114mm, f/8.0 and 1/640])
Going through some of the shots that I hadn’t processed, I came across this image of a Diamond Python (Morelia spilota) at 1080 Beach, south of Narooma, from August 2025. That morning, I was photographing birds flying along the shoreline and I was trying to find a better place to stand. When I moved, I looked down to make sure that my feet were on firm ground, when I noticed something different where I was about to step. It took a few minutes to realise that I was looking at a curled up snake. I guess it was trying to get some warmth, because it was facing north, towards the sun. It was exposed but it tucked away in the grass tussocks, and I almost trod on it, so it was probably concealed well from predators. Its skin looked like something had grabbed it at some stage, with a healing wound still very visible. Initially, its eyes were shut but I guess my movements photographing it must have woken it. The snake remained calm and stayed where it was, still tightly curled. I moved over in a different direction, and the python was still there when I eventually left the area.
These snakes are relatively slow, hunting by ambush rather than stalking. They have a home area and I had previously seen one of these snakes crossing the dirt entry road so may be this was the local python. Interestingly, they may occupy a position for up to two weeks while they await prey. As a python, they do not have venom, killing by constricting with their body. They are normally not aggressive, but can bite if provoked. As this individual showed, because I didn’t disturb it or act threatening, it continued to stay coiled, possibly thinking that I hadn’t seen it. If it had only known how excited I had been to photograph it so closely.
