CNN
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Living in Australia means you might have to accept coming across a snake or two on your property at some point. But one Sydney homeowner got more than he bargained for when a snake catcher unearthed 102 of the slithery reptiles hiding in his garden.
David Stein had spotted a few snakes in a pile of mulch in his backyard in suburban Sydney and called Reptile Relocation Sydney to take a look.
By the time snake catcher Dylan Cooper had finished digging through the mulch, he’d recovered a total of 102 snakes – five adults and 97 newborns, Reptile Relocation Sydney owner Cory Kerewaro told CNN on Thursday.
Red-bellied black snakes are a kind of venomous snake, and the females are known to congregate to give birth, said Kerewaro.
What is unusual in this case is the fact that someone witnessed the collective birth of dozens of snakes.
“It’s never really been seen,” said Kerewaro. “It’s pretty bizarre.”
One of the pregnant females who had been removed from the mulch pile gave birth to more newborn snakes inside the removal bag, added Kerewaro, who said that it took about three hours for Cooper to remove all of the snakes on Friday.
Stein called the snake catchers at an opportune moment, according to Kerewaro, as the snakes would have dispersed around the neighborhood.
“They’d just been born and were ready to venture out into the world,” said Kerewaro. “He got us at the right time.”
Stein, who lives in Horsley Park, around 20 miles from the center of the city, told the “Sunrise” morning show on Thursday that he had spotted the creatures last week in the areas he had put down mulch to keep his trees healthy.
“I saw a pile of snakes on the mulch pile… which gave me the shivers,” he said. “By the time I got my camera… they went into the pile of mulch.”
Stein said he initially thought there were about six snakes, adding: “It was terrifying.”
He said that the slithery reptiles had “relocated to the other side of the mulch, in two separate piles” a couple of days later.
He said his wife did some digging on the internet and found that the females often congregate when they’re about to give birth, meaning there could be many more on the way, prompting him to contact Reptile Relocation Sydney.
Stein said that, while it had been “exciting to watch the whole thing,” he felt “good now they’re gone.”
The snakes will now be released in a national park, said Kerewaro.
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