An Australian family has shared footage of a writhing ball of snakes spotted in the Royal National Park.
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Mother Karin Byrne filmed the tangled group of diamond pythons while walking between Jibbon and Shelley Beach in NSW.
While a tangle of serpents might be nightmare for some, the family was delighted by the strange sight.
![A snake 'mating ball' was filmed in the NSW Royal national park. A snake 'mating ball' was filmed in the NSW Royal national park.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200569959/16009eca-914f-4133-b4f2-f765eec2b364.png/r0_23_744_441_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Get your hands away from it," Ms Byrne tells her curious children.
Tangles like this are called "mating balls" - a group sexual behaviour common to many species.
In snakes, this usually involve up to 100 males competing to mate with the same female.
Diamond pythons are a non-venomous species sometimes kept as pets.
Experts advise it is dangerous to approach a snake mating ball even if the species is non-venomous.
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