When you think of Australia, chances are the country’s aggressive wildlife comes to mind. This is the country that’s home to giant spiders, scary snakes, and plenty of other nightmare-fueling creepy crawlies. Usually, the viral news stories that come out of Australia show these creatures attacking one another or in some state of terror. But an Australian man named Andrew Mock posted an image to Twitter that has recently taken the internet by storm–literally–and it’s actually… kind of cute?
Back in December, Mock posted a photo of a python covered in cane toads in Kununurra, Western Australia. “68mm [of rain] just fell in the last hour at Kununurra,” the tweet reads, adding that the rainfall flushed all of the local cane toads out of his brother’s dam. “Some of them took the easy way out – hitching a ride on the back of a 3.5m python.”
68mm just fell in the last hour at Kununurra. Flushed all the cane toads out of my brothers dam. Some of them took the easy way out – hitching a ride on the back of a 3.5m python. pic.twitter.com/P6mPc2cVS5
— Andrew Mock (@MrMeMock) December 30, 2018
Mock’s photo went viral back in December and is making the waves on the internet again this week, still finding new folks to both intrigue and gross out.
To make things even weirder, the python–who’s named Monty–actually had allure to the toads beyond just saving them from a flood: they were also trying to mate with him. Conversation biologist Jodi Rowley quote-tweeted the image, saying it was “one of the most amazing videos I’ve ever seen” before adding in a follow-up tweet that “male cane toads often get a bit carried away.” She shared an image of a cane toad she once found that tried to mate with a rotting mango.
Male Cane Toads often get a bit carried away. This AMAZING video reminds me of the time I found a Cane Toad trying to mate with a rotting mango in North Queensland! ? pic.twitter.com/g2kUBvOUV1
— Jodi Rowley (@jodirowley) December 31, 2018
Poor toads. Just want to stay safe and make babies all at once. Hopefully next time they find a nice lady toad instead of a massive python.
Images: CSIRO/Wiki Commons, Andrew Mock
