Mice, frogs and beetles ride on snake’s back to escape Queensland floods

‘Hero’ reptile rescues creatures from drowning in tank as northeastern Australian state hit by heavy rainfall

A frog, a mouse and a beetle ride to safety on the back of the snake (TikTok/carleen2332)

A snake has gone viral on TikTok after apparently rescuing a posse of mice, frogs and beetles from the floods currently hammering Queensland in northeastern Australia.

A clip was uploaded to the app by “carleen2332” of the snake floating in a rainwater tank and bearing the creatures to safety on its back like an incident from a child’s book of fables.

Interestingly, the reptile has been identified by 9 News as an eastern brown snake, a species that is indeed native to the region but which ordinarily feeds on mice, frogs and beetles, suggesting this particular snake either really is a selfless hero or, alternatively, just deeply cunning, playing the long game and saving the creatures now with a view to devouring them later.

An initial attempt to retreive the animals with a pole reportedly failed, only causing the snake to become agitated, traverse the tank and lose one mouse overboard.

However, the poster of the video assured her followers that all parties were subsequently rescued and returned to dry land.

“The most Australian thing I’ve seen today,” one commentator responded, with many agreeing that the whole affair represented an admirable display of teamwork.

Queensland has been hit by torrential downpours since Friday, with Brisbane suffering 677mm of rainfall in three days and flash flooding hitting the south east of the state along the Gold Coast.

“The Brisbane River is expected to peak around 4 metres with the high tide on Monday morning and should see another peak near 3.3 metres with Monday afternoon’s high tide,” Weatherzone warned.

The flooding in Brisbane and the surrounding area is the worst since 2011 when the city of 2.6 million people, Australia’s third-largest, was inundated by what was then described as a once-in-a-century event.

A 59-year-old man drowned in the north of the city on Sunday afternoon after he tried to cross a flooded creek on foot and was pinned against a fence, Queensland state police said on Monday, confirming the seventh fatality to be recorded so far.

Local residents have been advised by emergency services to stay at home unless it is unsafe to do so.

Multiple emergency flood alerts are currently in place for the Brisbane suburbs, where 2,145 homes and 2,356 businesses were submerged or are expected to become so on Monday as the waters rise.