A video of a snake doing something most people didn’t know it could leap several feet through the air from a roof to the ground has caused many Aussies to joke that they will never leave their house again .
The video only lasts five seconds, but it was enough to scare almost everyone who saw it.
However, it’s not new information for snake catchers like Liza Van Gelder, of Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, who used the video to again warn of the dangers, saying “juveniles are coming out”.
The snake in the video first appears on the edge of a roof before slowly moving its body to the point where it looks like it’s about to fall twenty feet or so.
But then it does something extraordinary – it flexes its body, flexes it like a feather, and leaps forward.
A video of a snake (pictured) doing what most people didn’t realize, leaping several feet through the air off a rooftop to the ground, is lighting up the internet
It then flew through the air and landed well away from the house it had jumped from before bursting into the bush.
Councilor Mark Booth of Moreton Bay Regional Council spoke for many when he said: “Well I could easily have lived the rest of my life not knowing they could…”
Ms Van Gelder also published the clip under the more reserved caption “Here’s an interesting video where everyone can see what snakes can do”.
Ms Van Gelder, who lives in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, explained that “the snake may have been trying to shade or hide.
“They don’t like to be seen. Birds sometimes try to attack them, so it may have been trying to escape from a bird,” she told the Chron Australia.
She also answered the question most people ask themselves — how did it get on the roof in the first place?
“Snakes do climb. I came across a couple of eastern browns – highly venomous snakes,” said Ms Van Gelder.
The snake (pictured) arched its body, coiling it like a feather, and sprang forward onto the ground
“Everyone thinks Eastern Browns don’t climb, but they actually use their bodies to move from side to side and climb things.
“I’ve seen eastern browns on roofs, window sills and other things.”
The good news for anyone close to the snake starring in her own spooky video is that it’s not venomous — probably.
“It’s not a clear image, but to me it looks like a common tree snake,” said Ms Van Gelder.
“They also like to climb up. I can’t tell 100 percent from the video.
“Common tree snakes are not poisonous, brown tree snakes are slightly poisonous.”
Summer is a very busy time for snake catchers like Liza Van Gelder (pictured)
Business has been busy lately for those in the snake catching business.
“During the summer we have quite a lot of assignments. Some snake catchers are so busy that we have to route calls between us to keep the community safe.
“If we can’t attend a conference call because we’re already on the phone, we refer someone else,” Ms Van Gelder said.
Common tree snake
The common tree snake is a species of non-venomous snake seen mainly during the day.
It is native to many parts of Australia, particularly the northern and eastern coastal areas and Papua New Guinea.
Agile and slender, they can grow up to 2 meters tall but are usually just over 1 meter tall.
Its color ranges from green to yellowish green, brownish green, black to blue in a rare form.
Under threat, the snake rears, revealing splashes of blue between its scales.
Source: Queensland Department of the Environment
She also expressed her sympathy for the death of a Lockyer Valley man from a snakebite on Saturday.
“I want to offer my condolences to the family of the elderly man who was bitten and died this morning,” she wrote on Facebook.
“So we’re asking you to call a snake catcher and stay away and be very careful about what you pick up or where you go.
“We are starting to bring out hatchlings now. Please note.’
For some, however, the video provided some entertainment.
One commenter said: “My three year old and I watched this about 30 times and she made a new sound effect every time her tummy hit the ground.
“We were in absolute hysteria.”
Others expressed their fears.
“You should see one go right up a vertical brick wall and through the smallest hole you think won’t fit through the eaves of a house,” said one commenter.
“I’ve lived a large part of my life with the safety slogan, look up and live. Holy shit, that gave a whole new take on it,” said another.