Huge pythons just toy boys
AUSTRALIA'S biggest snake is still at large, but three of her toy boys - each measuring between 4m and 5m - have been caught.
Three male pythons were removed from the old Yorkeys Knob Boating Club roof yesterday but the elusive female - believed to be Australia's largest at a whopping 6.5m - escaped extrication.
See more pictures of the massive pythons
The latest trio of shifted snakes follows the removal of two others from the same ceiling last month.
Cairns Snake Removals founder David Walton said although initially they thought they'd caught the "big mama", the 5m snake was in fact a male, one of many that had mated with the "big mama".
"The big mama is still at large," Mr Walton said.
"She was a popular snake with the males that's for sure."
He said all the males were up there looking for their "trophy wife" and more than 50 eggs could have been laid from the rooftop romp.
"Maybe she was going to pick and choose which male was the strongest to stay with her."
Mr Walton and his mate Daniel Smith, 18, spent almost two hours removing the reptiles, smashing holes in the ceiling before peering into the snake den with a torch and two bare hands.
The pair played chase with the serpents around the ceiling while being defecated on as they took the snakes into their grasp.
Pythons evicted from boathouse
Vic Garrett, who uses the club as a wood workshop, says the female python is much "fatter" and bigger than the males.
"There's a bigger one in there; I've seen it here for over four years," he said.
"It hangs its tail out the window and we pat it."
Yorkeys Knob Boating Club manager Stuart Vella said the club would employ Mr Walton for another inspection before renovation plans were carried out.
More Cairns snake tales:
- Pythons evicted from boathouse
- Killer rabbits attack snakes
- Man wrestles 5m python in chook pen
- Sexy snakes slip into suburbs
- Snake bites man's penis
- Tourists keep snake in tent
- Monster python eats pet
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A 5m python, and two smaller pythons, are removed from the ceiling at Yorkeys Knob Boating Club. VIDEO: Jake Nowakowski
Close, but no cigar: David Walton and Daniel Smith with a 5m python that was caught during their quest for a reported 6.5m snake at Yorkeys Knob Boating Club. Picture: JAKE NOWAKOWSKI
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