This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Savage Redback Kills Baby Brown Snake

They're no longer happy just trying to kill us, but turning on each other now too.

It's something we've all known for a long time; most of Australia's native wildlife is, in some way, shape or form, trying to kill us.

In a recent trend however, it would appear that some of our deadliest animals are now focusing on killing each other, as a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday showed a redback spider biting a young brown snake at a Victorian car engine reconditioning facility.

Watching the video, it's hard not to feel sorry for the snake (even though it's the fifth deadliest animal to call Australia home and is thought to be responsible for the most snake bite fatalities of any other Australian snake).

The video, which has been viewed more than 2.5 million times, has come under scrutiny though by Facebook users who allege that the snake was deliberately held in place with a fish hook in order to allow the spider to attack it.

North Vic Engines has however denied the accusations, telling The Huffington Post Australia that "there was absolutely no hook" and that snakes were quite a common occurrence at the facility.

The company went so far as to post another video on Thursday which they claim features a second brown snake, still alive, found entangled in a spider's web.

The attack is not the first of its kind, with the redback spider having already earned itself a reputation for capturing and killing small animals.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.