Lunchtime crowds got the fright of their lives when a venomous snake appeared in the heart of Sydney.
The red-bellied black snake was spotted attempting to slither out of a grate near the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay on Tuesday.
In a video posted to TikTok, the snake flickered its forked tongue as startled passersby walked past.
While some viewers were alarmed by the surprising sight, others found the encounter funny.
‘Snakes need lunch breaks too,’ the woman who posted the footage wrote.
‘He was eyeing up the cruise ship to slither onto.’
A viewer joked: ‘he is just ssssssight sssssseeing’.
Others expressed concern at the snake being so close to the CBD.
‘This is incredibly sad … It must have been terrified in such an urban area’.
Australian Reptile Park operations manager Brandon Gifford told The Telegraph that the encounter in the CBD was ‘bizarre’.
He described Tuesday’s hot and humid conditions in Sydney as being a ‘perfect storm’ for snakes.
‘Urban environments are great for red-bellied blacks, eastern browns and pythons because of the easy shelter and a lot of food,’ he said.
The red-bellied black snake (pictured) was spotted by a pedestrian while attempting to manoeuvre out of a grate near the Cruise Bar in Circular Quay on Tuesday
Mr Gifford suspected the snake could have been relocating and got stuck, or was looking to breed.
‘It may be a male looking for a female to breed, or a female looking to give birth,’ he said.
According to Wildlife Victoria, red-bellied black snakes are ‘not aggressive’ and will usually retreat before attacking, though will hiss and rear up when threatened.
Although its venom can cause significant illness, no deaths have been recorded from its bite.
